Reflection of Passion
by SIB
Summary: [Chapter 5 uploaded] An unidentified body is found in Konoha and at the same time, something tries to hurt Sasuke from the inside. The Uchiha has to learn what a precious person means with a hard way. [NarutoxSasuke, may be KakashixGenma]
1. Chapter One: Sounds of Birds and Water

**A/N: **My first try in Naruto fandom. This is shounen ai with Naruto/Sasuke and Kakashi/? as the main pairing. Don't like it, don't read, just push the back button. It's easier than wasting your time to flame me. I rewrite this fic because it left so many holes before, and I hope this one comes up better. As for the story, I will follow the manga plot until Tsunade became the Hokage but Sasuke wouldn't search for Orochimaru. So, here is the story. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Billions of thanks to my wonderful beta-reader, **Kyubi-san** a.k.a. **The Fox of burden**!

**DISCLAIMER:** Masashi Kishimoto sensei owns Naruto, I obviously don't.

_/Italic words in here/_ are for thoughts.

**Reflection of Passion**

**Author: SIB**

**Chapter One: Sounds of Birds And Water**

The center of the Hidden Village of Konoha was a red circular building where most crucial decisions involving shinobi matters were settled on. It was also where their Hokage's office was located and where she dwelt most of her time. Serving as such an important place, it was guarded well but not overly so since the chance for an uninvited guest to sneak in to the village itself was already nearly smaller than nil. No sane outsider would willingly choose to walk in unidentified and without clear purpose, except if the said trespasser wished to be captured by Konoha's ANBU and later interrogated with various ways of torture we could not really mention here.

Such was the great faith Konoha's residence had in their security, so we could only imagine how horrified Umino Iruka, a chuunin who worked in the aforementioned building and apparently the first one who arrived that morning, was to find a lifeless body lay precisely in front of the front door of the building. A body of a man he had never met before nor recognized.

* * *

Summer was at its end. The sinking evening sun glittered ripples of water that went cascading on downward ground, following the river's course at a leisure pace. Leaves were green and fresh on dry branches, immune still to the impending autumn's spell. Perched on the same branches were sparrows, chirping their closing song of the day.

All beauties of nature in its sundown glory were lost to a poised young man standing silently by the riverbank. His pitch-black eyes were fixed at a spot among glossy waves the flowing water made. His lips formed a thin line on pale skin, which protruded more in the frame of sleek black hair.

For once Uchiha Sasuke wasn't mourning for his clan's cruel fate or the burden a twelve year-old boy should carry as an avenger. He was merely waiting, dead bored although not tired, for his teammates and their instructor to appear. Kakashi-sensei stated no specific time to regroup, leaving his order only to finish their mission and subsequently meet at this place.

But the jounin was nowhere on sight. Neither were the loud idiot and Sakura.

With hands casually plunged into his pockets, the young genin scanned his environment for the eleventh time that evening. Like the previous ten observations, he sensed neither visible nor audible threat. Not that he expected a sudden dangerous ambush in a C-rank mission, but a shinobi should stay alert without any prejudice. Sasuke knew that policy only too well.

And there was the morning incident. It would be nowhere near wise to let his guard down, especially after the discovery of an unknown body that morning in the middle of the village.

As much as Iruka and the authorities wished to keep the incident a secret at least to civilians and shinobis lower than chuunin, the news still could spread out with the speed of fire devouring kerosene-covered wood. Before noon, those who didn't know that a nameless man had been found dead could be considered as hermits barricading themselves in their house, free from outdoor pressure and influences. Sasuke was not one of those who judged gossip worth much listening to and even he managed to learn the news from two horrified men talking about it in front of the Uchiha residence rather loudly. If the topic weren't that interesting, he would have glared them to death.

That also explained Kakashi's even more terrible lateness, which today had intolerably reached five hours. The Hokage must have called a meeting at once and the young Uchiha knew better to snort disdainfully at his instructor's lame excuse that he had to save a drowning cat. Not that it was believable in the first place.

His two teammates immediately bombarded the silver-haired jounin with questions concerning the incident but either they were unbelievably sharp for once or incredibly stupid that the two didn't press any further once Kakashi stated that he had yet to hear about the said occurrence. And so they did a mission as usual.

Hidden securely behind his black shirt was a scroll he was told to steal from a shrine in a nearby village. Being one of the talented ninjas, Sasuke found no real difficulty in snatching it from a peaceful non-ninja village and felt rather bored with his easy task. His instructor didn't elaborate the purpose of this mission but of course only a moron like Naruto would bother to inquire –loudly, if he might add. Ninjas were simply tools to accomplish given assignments and he knew it, regardless his strong revulsion of being regarded a mere tool.

His sense caught a slight digression of the wind's course across the river, as if a quite amount of chakra had been released. With a kunai firmly gripped between his fingers, once again Sasuke observed his surroundings and yet didn't leave the low bushes across the river out of his scrutiny, ready for any kind of attack from any direction.

Faint rustles of leaves being pushed aside came from behind and the young shinobi averted his gaze instantly. As he had suspected, the previous chakra release was only a distraction and the real attack was coming from behind...

"Yo."

If Sasuke were Naruto, he would have thrown his kunai to their instructor's head and screamed _'Don't you dare to scare me like that!' _vociferously.However, being a frosty Uchiha, he merely narrowed his eyes and glanced back to the bushes. No sign of any movement. Was he imagining things?

"The first as usual, Sasuke?" Kakashi's cheerful voice interrupted his silent inspection.

Of course, what would he expect from the number one rookie? These days, he lived and moved on under the realization that the idiot hadn't been able to defeat him yet. Did his sensei actually think that he would lose to that... never mind. Sasuke bit back every rude reply he was about to spill and replaced it with an eloquent 'Hn'.

"Ah, well, let's just wait for them."

Sasuke merely watched the silver-haired instructor happily pull out his 'Icha Icha Paradise' and sit down, starting to read. Even though he no longer doubted the jounin's ability as a ninja, Kakashi's antics seemed always to find a way to get on his nerves. One would say it was because he began to care much for his sensei, that odd as it was, Kakashi was one of his precious persons. But being the icicle renowned as Uchiha Sasuke, he chose to shrug it off.

Following his sensei, the young genin sat down on the gravelly ground. It seemed to be another round of waiting. Not that he liked to wait but having Kakashi as an instructor taught you a lot about the worth of patience.

"Can you hear it?"

Sasuke was at once alert at his teacher's sudden query, but no irregular sound was audible. He listened more intently, unwilling to admit that he had heard nothing, and still there was nothing he could classify as threatening.

"What?" At last his egotism relented.

"Be silent and listen," Kakashi said, putting down his book and closing his eyes. Somehow it made Sasuke feel the older shinobi wasn't talking about an ambush. "Can you hear them?"

"What?"

"Listen," the jounin repeated patiently. Sasuke complied despite his growing impatience, yet he still couldn't hear anything but the birds and water, and many leaves dancing on the undulating surface of the river in crackly but sodden melody...

"Don't you think the birds have a very nice voice?" Suddenly Kakashi spoke up, much to the other's astonishment. He reached his right hand out and a leaf floated from the surface of water to the twirl of his fingers, leaving circular waves amidst the ripples. The green leaf firmly attached itself to his fingers like a piece of metal would to a magnet. "They beautify the sound of water."

Sasuke looked as if his sensei had gone mad. "...what?"

"It's not smart to say the same word three times in a row, Sasuke."

The young shinobi then preferred silence to another 'what'. But... was it what Kakashi demanded him to hear? Birds and water? It was so... un-shinobi-ish. And it was a jounin talking. Sasuke wasn't surprised that he failed to pay any heed to the said sounds before since he had limited his interest only from a ninja's point of view. And a shinobi didn't spend times listening to birds and water unless they were abnormal enough to his standards.

"They are boring," he blurted out.

Kakashi's eyes formed a happy curve, as if he was contented to the given reaction. "Sometimes it is fine to stop running and lay back, you know, only listen to what nature offers.

Sasuke snorted and stared at another surge of leaves flowing down the stream. "You talk as if you know more."

"I have lived longer," was the only reply, wrapped in such laid-back fashion only the copy ninja could pull.

"Doesn't mean that you're wiser."

His instructor could have been offended by the short and discourteous reply, but his voice was still nonchalant. "I've never said that I am."

At that remark, the younger shinobi was at a loss for words. He was not particularly a talkative one but usually he managed to compete equally with Naruto in returning insults, yet now... never mind. Very reluctantly, he tried to listen, to overcome his prejudgment of how _boring_ the birds and water could be.

_Water._

The ripples filled his mind, flowing ceaselessly in erratic motions, creating various tunes. They apparently held so many different sounds, something a twelve year-old boy who was so consumed in hatred and revenge had never recognized before.

"Water always has many sounds but river particularly provide many of them," a smooth voice rose, blending itself with the melody of the trickling brook. "Water splashes on rocks and pebbles, smooth-surfaced ones or rough, large and small, they create different sounds one with another. But within the water itself there are already many sounds. When it moves, it emits sounds of the substances clashing against each other. They have always clashed, crafting more and more echoes within themselves unless the water is still, and thus the sound of the river has never died."

The jounin's words seemed to wrap his mutinous mind within their intensity, their incorrigibility of being the words a ninja had spoken. They echoed, trying to penetrate the dark thick veil in his mind, forceful but gentle.

Somehow, they fit.

"And the birds," Kakashi's voice floated once again, rising slightly as if to match those of the much higher tones the sparrows had. "The beauty of their song stands out the most at dusk, when they are concerting a farewell. It tells us about the end of one day, about many doings and stories in morning and daylight, and... they will say goodbye."

Sasuke understood, even the part his sensei had left unspoken; that being a shinobi was a self of darkness, that it was when the birds finished their farewell a shinobi would begin to live, and whatever they did to prevent it the night would come. _Inevitable._ Perhaps it was the real significance of the song for them as ninjas.

"It was lonely, wasn't it?" The words left his lips unconsciously. For once, Sasuke let his guard down.

"Everyone should experience what loneliness means, else they won't value company," the jounin answered solemnly.

Being a child who had experienced more loneliness than humanly possible, the black-haired boy snapped, black eyes gazing angrily to the lazy one of his instructor's. "Are you saying it is okay to be alone?"

_/As if he knows what it is to be lonely.../_

"A shinobi is not necessarily alone." There was a firm tone in Kakashi's voice which compelled Sasuke to listen. "Like now I'm listening to the birds and water with you, I'm not alone. I have friends like Gai, Genma, Kurenai, and there are you, Naruto, and Sakura to be supervised. Shinobis are not really alone."

Sasuke stayed silent to hold back his rebellious side from bursting out of anger, his teeth were gritted to prevent any offensive retort from being uttered. To be in the middle of a crowd didn't mean that you were not alone, he had been long since acknowledging that. Often he found himself flocked in a mass of girls but none of them could erase that stamp with the word _'Alone'_ inscribed on it which marked his heart. Alone was not physical. Alone consumed mentally, slowly but lethal until you felt neither living nor dead.

"It's a matter of choice," suddenly his instructor said, cutting his incensed train of thoughts. "They are there to be your friends, but it is you who have to choose whether or not you'll take the offer."

A picture of himself shielding Naruto from death filled his mind. Sasuke winced. He had avoided that thought for long since it would bring many more to be thought of. He still had no idea what had pushed him to that level and why he had done something as idiotic as protecting his teammate with his life as a stake while he definitely had to _live_ to be an avenger. Sometimes people did idiotic things but to put your life at a line when you needed to live was beyond idiot.

Uchiha Sasuke had never been affiliated with the word _'Idiot'_ before. His fangirls would kill you if you dared to.

But perhaps... just perhaps, the said Uchiha wouldn't mind to be called _'Idiot'_ once if he could divest himself of the _'Alone'_.

It wasn't exactly comforting, let alone erasing his worry, his burden, or the constant picture of threat in Itachi's eyes somewhere nailed in his mind, but it did help him to relax a bit. He had called Naruto and Sakura his precious persons once and next probably he could try to let them ease his loneliness.

Damn Kakashi and his sounds of birds and water.

He sighed, eyes never leaving the single uncovered one of his sensei's. "Is this something all teachers have to do?"

"Maybe," the eye crinkled mirthfully. "I've never listened when Hokage-sama told us, the instructors, what we had to do to our subordinates anyway. I only do what I think is right."

_/And you think this is right.../_

Sasuke might have said more, even an unlikely thank you, if his voice was not suddenly snowed under a scream. "Senseeeeeeiii!"

Naruto and flashy entrances had always been good friends. A boy wrapped in orange appeared from the bushes at the other side of the river, followed by seven large snakes that could have been the offspring of those belonged to Orochimaru. Without blinking twice he jumped across the river, leaving his gargantuan pursuers behind, which apparently were too offended by water regardless the fact that they were reptiles, and much to the ninjas' relief, decided to let their grandiose prey go.

After blinking twice at his miraculously safe situation, Naruto leapt to his feet, a huge grin conquered most space of his face. Thrusting his thumb forward, he announced proudly, "Mission's accomplished!"

The others chose _not_ to ask what he had done that could annoy seven large snakes.

"You don't have to get so loud," Kakashi patted Naruto's head with his book, which made the loud boy launch more protests. Luckily at that moment, Sakura emerged from the cluster of trees behind them, in her hand was a blue scroll. She blinked at the given situation.

"What happened?"

"Nothing," her instructor answered before his other subordinate could worsen the situation. "Excellent, you three. Now hand me the scrolls."

Naruto fished out his green one from his pouch and stared at Sasuke's black scroll. "Mine is much bigger than Sasuke's!"

The other boy said nothing about their scrolls' rather unnoticeable difference in thickness –which was hardly five milimetres at all– and merely deadpanned. "I'm one hour ahead of you, dobe."

"I helped Sakura-chan!" Naruto shot back, "I'm not an anti-social wimp like you, jerk!"

"And then you appeared from there across the river while she was from here?" Sasuke raised his eyebrows, not believing a word. "Wow, isn't that magnificent."

"I _am_ fast! You know I can beat your speed!"

"Really?" The young heir of the Uchiha Clan wondered if his obnoxiously loud teammate indeed realized the new level of velocity he had gained from his practice with Kakashi.

"Fine! Let's have a match, you arrogant sissy!"

"Why not?"

"We'll have a race to Ichiraku!"

"No problem."

"Have a contest who can eat ramen faster!"

"Of cour-" Suddenly Sasuke stopped. He was not that dim-witted to challenge Naruto concerning his unholy amount of craving to ramen, as famished as he was.

Damn Kakashi and his sounds of birds and water. They made him too relaxed.

"Ha! You said it-"

"Stop right there, boys," their sensei's voice cut their brawl firmly. "You can kill or molest each other as much as you like, but do it outside my range of sight so I don't have to take any responsibility for any damage done on you both. Ah, and assemble here tomorrow at seven."

"And you'll come at ten, Sensei?" Sakura asked grimly.

Kakashi's happy smile answered. "You have to wait until tomorrow to find out."

The three genins left with much shouting and insults thrown between the two boys while Sakura followed their steps closely behind. At the sight presented before him, Kakashi decided that Naruto should really work on his stealth skill since it was harmfully contagious, even to Sasuke. A ninja without stealth was nearly as useless as a runner without feet.

"You seem to enjoy teaching so much."

Kakashi didn't even turn around to acknowledge his newly emerged companion. "You have to try at least once to find out," he answered seriously.

"No, thank you. I'm quite satisfied to be an examiner," Genma replied nonchalantly as he stepped out from the shadow of a nearby tree. Moving the long toothpick he was chewing to the opposite end of his lips, he asked, "Got anything there?"

A leaf the copy ninja had previously taken from the water during his conversation with Sasuke flew past his shoulder and was easily caught by his bandana-ed friend. "That's how they communicate."

The other shinobi examined the leaf closely and immediately noticed lines of unintelligible grass-like inscription at its paler flipside. He didn't recognize the language but it could have been some kind of secret codes used to avoid any sort of information leakage, like what they were attempting to do now.

"Pretty risky," he commented.

The silver-haired jounin shrugged. "Who knows? We don't even know if this is indeed related to the unidentified body."

"Perhaps I too find something interesting. Let's meet Asuma and Gai first," Genma tossed the leaf back to his fellow colleague and turned around.

After Kakashi put the newly found proof securely in his vest pocket, they set off at once. Trees were effortlessly lapsed under their light feet, leaving the sun behind to sink even lower.

"That was very wise of you." Suddenly Genma cut the silence between them, his low voice was scantily audible amidst the wind whistling fast and shrill in front of Kakashi's ears.

"Hm?"

"The talk you had with that Uchiha boy."

"I've always believed that experience is the best teacher," the silver-haired jounin answered rather proudly.

"Is it?"

"I'm joking," Kakashi's visible eye curved cheerfully. "Someone told me that long ago and Sasuke... he just resembles me too much."

"Something all teachers have to do?" Genma raised his hand to remove a cluster of leaves from scratching his face.

"Partly, but listening to water increases vigilance too," the other answered lightly as he flipped to a higher branch precisely before he could slam himself into a hard lumpy trunk, which suddenly loomed out of nowhere.

"Really, experience is the best teacher."

The copy ninja smiled behind his mask. "Ah, right."

Rest of their journey was finished in companionable silence.

* * *

The night had dawned at Konoha, establishing a dark sky garnished with countless blinking stars. Lamps had been lit, flooding the darkening roads with their light glow as many people began to pour out from their workplaces. At this particular night, only few who seemed so hurried to reach their home. Most of Konoha's population was still caught in heated conversation concerning the unknown body. As light steadily dimmed, their voices grown soft also, as if the darkness had ears and could suddenly ambush them.

Two boys could be seen treading their way on the main road after they had finished their competition at Ichiraku. As anybody could have predicted before, the taller one ended up paying the unbelievably expensive bill since he had lost the eating match. Only those who had ever experienced eating ramen with Naruto could fear the noodles as costly food.

"Ahh! I'm really full!" The shorter boy grinned at his sulking friend. "We should have eating match more often, Sasuke!"

"Shut up," the young Uchiha growled.

"What? Feeling so insulted because you lost?" Naruto was obviously enjoying his victory. Fortunately his companion felt that he would only sink even lower if he answered the stupid retort.

The other boy could have taunt him more and probably end up nurturing a one-sided banter, but it had never been really fun especially with no Sasuke to shoot back. They resumed their walking in silence, partly listening to adults standing at sideways and chatting vigorously still about the morning incident. Not that it was really interesting for Naruto; he had dismissed it as an unimportant matter since Kakashi told them that he hadn't even heard about it.

They finally reached the crossroad where he should turn right and Sasuke left. He had given up his attempts to say a farewell since the arrogant asshole had never replied to it even once and thus wordlessly he-

Suddenly Naruto stopped, realizing that his teammate had halted a few steps behind. Out of simple curiosity, he turned around and found Sasuke with a mix of pain and astonishment painted palpably on his face. His brow was crinkled as if something had offended him. The other boy raised his eyebrows and asked, "Something wrong, smartass?"

Sasuke only hmph-ed in reply and continued his steps. The flaxen-haired boy would have smacked him right away if he missed the wince which suddenly appeared at the other's face. Nevertheless, the Uchiha didn't stop, leaving his friend in wonder if he was only seeing things.

_/Maybe a bug gets in his shirt,/_ Naruto thought rather hopefully. However, he couldn't set his worry about the wince aside and later found himself sincerely wishing that it was really only a bug. It was better compared to the cursed seal.

* * *

Two jounins emerged at the door of a homely coffee bar. Greeting them was a view of coziness; wooden tables encircled by four chair each and not-too-bright lamp added with the heavenly scent of coffee were quite inviting. Soft murmurs could be heard filling the place from after-work customers, sometimes interspersed by newly arrived ones delivering their orders.

Another pair of jounins, who were already sitting comfortably behind one of the tables, waved at the two, beckoning them to come near. Kakashi and Genma made their way through the rather full bar slowly, accidentally bumping many persons in process.

"Who suggested for us to meet here?" Genma inquired when they eventually reached their table. Unfortunately the next second another man bumped into him for the third time. Having a sense of a jounin didn't actually help if it was _that_ crowded. He couldn't really dodge it unless he wanted to shove his silver-haired friend forward straight to the table.

"Usually it wasn't this crowded," Asuma reasoned, being a regular customer of the place.

"You're late, Kakashi-rival! This makes the records 53 wins and 52 loses!" Gai exclaimed triumphantly. The supposed rival and his horrible level of apathy didn't even bother to answer, which left our beautiful green beast of Konoha in tears of joy and vengeance.

After they had sat down and had their orders, the four shinobis stared at each other. A moment later Asuma broke the silence, "Well?"

Kakashi fished the leaf out of his pocket and placed it in the center of their table. "I found it flowing down the river," he began, flipping the leaf to display the enigmatic inscription. "See there? I can't say it for sure but perhaps it has something to do with the incident." Gai, who was sitting beside his rival, brought the leaf up closer to his eyes to examine it more carefully.

"This is a beautiful masterpiece!" he cried out in sheer admiration and put down the leaf carefully back as if it was a thing to be worshipped. "This is undeniably a prove of hard work! The carver must have spent myriad times of hard work to practice until he can shape such a smooth delicate carving! Perhaps even with needles!"

"Needles, you say?" His bandana-ed friend interrupted, drawing all attention to his still expressionless feature. Genma remained silent for a moment, playing his toothpick up and down in steady pace.

"Something about the body?" Once again Asuma volunteered to break the silence before Kakashi had the idea to snatch the toothpick out of his friend's mouth and made the meeting longer with their bickering.

The brown-haired jounin nodded. The four of them were shinobis who unofficially were chosen by Tsunade to study the case, despite the fact that she had ordered a squad of ANBU to investigate. Being the only jounin who had taken part to perform the post-mortem surgery to the unknown body with Konoha medical team, Genma was supposed to file the report to their Hokage tomorrow. If he had found something which linked the leaf and the body, probably they could actually reach some creditable progress.

"It is something that actually I want to report," he told them solemnly. "About what Gai said, there are some needles in the pocket of trousers this man was wearing. But it can be coincidence. What actually I want to tell you is that I couldn't find any bruise or wound that could lead to his death. He seemed to be in a perfect health when he was somehow dead."

"Internal organs?" Kakashi asked.

"In perfect shape. I've checked everything from eyes to toes, even hair but I've never heard an illness striking hair which can cause death. I'm planning to resume the necropsy tomorrow and examine the brain but it's unlikely we'll find something new." He paused for a second then asked quietly, "Ever heard any jutsu which can result that kind of death?"

"Call that curse, not jutsu," Asuma told him bitterly, "but if it indeed exists, seems like Orochimaru's to me." His words were followed by a complete stillness from his colleagues.

"The people are restless," he continued in a lower tone, "they may seem curious or even excited about this incident but they are worried. If anybody can just walk in and die in front of the Hokage's office, I doubt they will still trust the security system."

"Tell them about what Genma has discovered and they will freak out," Gai pointlessly added. He looked at his rival and asked, "What about your Uchiha?"

The silver-haired jounin leant back to his chair lazily. "Well, he still hasn't suspected anything but I think it's best to keep it that way. He doesn't really _need_ to know."

Asuma raised his eyebrows. "You still let them to do missions?"

"It will be suspicious if I don't," Kakashi answered somberly. "For the time being, he still has me and his teammates. Besides, Naruto would die for Sasuke if he needs to."

"Precious person, huh?"

"We must look underneath the underneath," he replied cheerfully, a happy smile curved his one visible eye.

"That is so modern, Kakashi!" Gai exclaimed, his eyes were shining in tears and pride. "That is my rival!"

"We'll see what the Hokage will say about this. Oh, and speaking of that, she called for another meeting tomorrow morning, seven o'clock sharp," Genma informed, glancing at his friend with infamous habit of tardiness in process.

"Again!?" The jounin with super fuzzy eyebrows cried out in distress. "I will die in shame if I am late again to meet my students! It can dampen their youthful spirits!"

"In this department, I envy you, Kakashi," Asuma muttered.

"We must look underneath the underneath," Kakashi told them wisely, which immediately earned him sour glances from three directions.

To Be Continued

**Notes:** I forget to mention this before, but here I make that Naruto has already known about Sasuke's cursed seal. I hope you don't mind. For Kakashi's pairing, I will reveal it in due time but of course, you can always guess Thank you for reading! Really hope that you will spare a minute to review!


	2. Chapter Two: Prelude of Chaos

**A/N:** Here is the second part! Thank you so much for my reviewers: **lalala, The Lady Arianrod, cfox, -kAtOrSe-**

To **Lady Geuna** and **Dark Mimiru-Chan**: I'm really sorry but I don't think this will end as Kakashi/Iruka. I don't really hate it, because I myself is a fan of some great KakaIru fics, but I just want to try something new. I hope there are already many KakaIru fics out there that you won't get mad at me... Oh, and thank you so much for the review! Hope you will still read this story!

To **Bishiehuggler**: That's a very close guess! Not quite right but not wrong either XD I'm glad that you like this fic and share the same passion for an unconventional pairing. Thank you for reviewing, hope you'll like this chapter too!

Thanks to my great beta-reader, **kyubi-san**! Your patience to point out my ridiculous mistakes is just remarkable! This chapter is entirely for you! Oh, and yes, you're right about the Big Dipper XD

**DISCLAIMER:** Masashi Kishimoto-sensei owns Naruto, I obviously don't.

**WARNING:** This contains male/male pairing: Naruto/Sasuke and Kakashi/? Perhaps OOC characters.

_/Italic words in here/_ are for thoughts.

**Reflection of Passion **

**Author: SIB **

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**Chapter Two: Prelude of Chaos **

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It was almost dark in the forest. The green canopy of leaves was so thick that the vast sky was merely seen as blue tints in seas of green, peeking behind the dense trees. Despite the protection it provided from direct heat of sunlight, it was no less hot under the shadow of many trees. The air was still in there, for wind was deterred by its thickness from cooling down the forest and its inhabitants.

Squatting on one of the branches was a boy dressed in bright orange. Sweat perpetually poured down from a mass of untidy blond hair, dampening his face which was crinkled up in a mix of impatience, ennui, and undivided attention. Blue eyes were fixed on a spot at the ground below, where a snake at twenty feet long was coiling peacefully.

Edgily the shinobi growled under his breath. He was excited at first, to do a C-rank mission after carrying out many D-rank ones which ranged from mowing someone's lawn which was apparently too large to be mown by its lazy landlord, to babysitting the most horrible baby he had ever met in the whole planet. However, the current state of affairs forced him to change his opinion.

Really, he couldn't find the point in having a snake –or a twenty-feet long anaconda in that matter– as a pet, except if the owner was somehow related to Orochimaru who used his 'pets' to destroy half of a ninja village. This owner obviously didn't give a second damn thought if his pet managed to escape from its huge glass cage, which exactly what was happening now. Add that to the fact that the said owner _happened to_ own an intolerably large estate, which also _happened to_ have a private jungle inside it. (Really, these rich people were so weird. They could have spent their money on anything else more useful, ramen for instance...) Then in some ridiculous ways, the rich owner _happened to_ be enlightened by a bright idea to hire shinobis to look for his precious missing-snake and the mission furthermore _happened to_ fall on Team 7's responsibility. Of course, he merely _happened to_ be the one who found the damn snake first too.

The annoyed young boy wiped his pouring sweat with his long sleeve. Oh right, the current season also _happened to_ be summer and he _happened to_ wear a long-sleeved jacket. Not that he could really do something to the latter; his wardrobe didn't give _that_ much choice, but if only he had chosen to wear his cool short-sleeved t-shirt...

He had been there for maybe fifteen minutes, waiting for the rest of his teammates to show up since they had divided themselves into four groups to perform a more efficient search, provided with a transmitter and a receiver each. Anyone who spotted the prey first had to notify his or her location with the transmitter and waited for the others to come before taking any action. He was used to wait, or rather trained to, on account of his sensei's infamous habit, but to wait where he was permitted to complain as loud as possible was quite different with his present condition where any noise more than twenty decibels was strictly prohibited. And this hellish infuriating heat...

_/That's it!/_ He had enough, thank you, and now he was going to catch the snake by himself! His teammates and their instructor could put the blame on their own snail-like speed if he were to fail later!

Stooping his head lower, the yellow-haired gennin prepared himself for a leap straight to the snake. First he should grab its head and then-

The sweat made his palms a bit slippery and the next second he had lost his balanced and fallen off the branch. Naruto was ready to scream in horrid of falling on top of a twenty-feet long snake and getting eaten by an angry reptile soon after, when he found a hand covering his mouth, effectively silencing him from emitting unnecessary noises.

He blinked and noticed that there was another hand holding his waist and also preventing him from falling further. Somehow he felt terribly familiar with this, as if he had experienced it for many times. Before he could register the feeling, a flat low voice had muttered in front of his ear.

"You. Are. An. Idiot."

Of course. Uchiha Sasuke. The last heir of the Uchiha-clan. A genius ninja who had the privileged ability of the sharingan. The cold bastard who happened to be his teammate and oddly also a prince to most of girls in Konoha. The blond shinobi chose to conveniently leave out the part which stated that Sasuke was also the person who probably had the longest records in saving him from countless disgraceful accidents.

Regaining his balanced position, Naruto shot back, "And you are a sluggish snail, bastard!"

The black-haired shinobi glared his friend to silence as their prey shot up its egg-shaped head in realization of the pursuers' presence. The two boys noticed immediately and waited with bated-breath until the reptile lowered its head again, probably dismissing them as mere fellow jungle friends.

Naruto huffed in relief and now was glaring back at his teammate. For some reasons, to forget or simply being oblivious of the fact that Sasuke was his savior seemed so easy for him.

Before any of them could start more bickering, their long-awaited instructor had emerged right beside the black-haired genin, still wrapped in his air of calm jollity. His lazy eye, however, seemed to be screaming warnings and threats if they dared to pull any motion or sound more than necessary. It reminded Naruto to the first test Kakashi had executed on them, where probably for the first time in his life the kitsune boy had ever felt raw fear to the continuity of his supposedly-still-long life. It also taught him to better obey his sensei for now.

A moment later, Sakura leapt to his side with almost no sound. She stared at the large snake which Kakashi pointed at and nodded, acknowledging their target which was now languidly stretching its long body. The kunoichi shivered slightly at the unsavory sight as her instructor's voice chimed in her head. Anaconda or _Eunectes murinus_, as he had said, was the largest non-summoned snake. It usually killed by squeezing its prey with bone-breaking power, and the one they were pursuing right now weighed no less than a hundred kilos. However –she remembered seeing an ominous smile beneath the black mask at that word, damn him– the owner had planted two fangs along with modified salivary glands to his anaconda, which made their large prey not only a constrictor but also venomous snake.

Just great.

With a low whisper, the jounin instructor told them what to do. Since their client demanded for his precious pet not to be harmed in any manner, they obviously couldn't use any shuriken or kunai. Thus in that case, Sasuke should catch its head and Naruto its tail, while Sakura ought to hold its body in place and later perform a sleep-inducing spell. Kakashi elected himself to be the observer, pointedly ignoring tart looks his subordinates were shooting him.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" the jounin raised his eyebrows and took his faithful book out. The three young shinobis looked at each other and nodded in unison, leaping off of the tree at the next second.

From the corner of his eyes, Kakashi watched his genins carrying out each of their job effectively, except for once when Naruto miraculously managed to slip on the fairly dry ground. Thankfully he could catch up with the rest of his teammates and was ready in position when they simultaneously stretched out their hands to grab the still confused snake.

All went well, or so was Kakashi's conclusion until a wince of pain reached Sasuke's face and the boy let his grip loosened a bit. Barely missing a chance of escape, their prey slid its head free out of the black-haired boy's hand and ducked at once to plant its fangs on the pale inviting flesh. Astonishingly the shortest genin for once had his reflect working just on time and pulled the snake by its tail, distancing the venomous teeth from his friend's hand and also falling straight on his back as the result.

The angry reptile could have done more irreversible damage –since Sakura was still frozen in place at the horrendous mishap– if their sensei didn't leap in at once and shove the snake's head to the ground. As if something had snapped him out of his trance, Sasuke suddenly moved and cast the spell by himself. The precious pet immediately fell into deep peaceful slumber.

For a moment, no unearthly sound graced the rather quiet forest as three pairs of eyes stared hard at the only black-haired boy whose hand was still on the snake's cold skin. Then one of them exploded.

"Sasuke bastard! You screw up the mission!"

For once Sakura found herself agreeing with Naruto although she would certainly voice her opinion in a more civil manner. Since she was pouring her full concentration on pinning the snake, she absolutely had no idea of what had happened to her usually faultless teammate. Knowing Uchiha Sasuke, it ought to be pretty serious.

"Sorry."

At the small almost inaudible apology, the pink-haired girl could only stare in complete shock as Naruto's jaw dropped. Sorry? When was the last time she heard her ice prince muttering a 'sorry'? She was almost sure it was in one of her dreams only. But this Sasuke... was indisputably _real_ which meant... Sakura was so close to pinching her cheeks in order to convince herself that it was no mere dream.

Using the initial shock to his fullest advantage, Kakashi put the awfully long snake on the genins shoulders as he flung the head over his own and cheerfully led the way out of the forest. Excellent. He would happily use Sasuke anytime to mutter a 'sorry' if it could make his loudest subordinate suffer a difficulty of shouting and complaining.

By the time they reached the forest's border, the blazing sun had begun to glide down westward as shadows grew longer. They immediately returned the big heavy snake to its owner and received a profuse spluttering of thank-you, even a dinner invitation which was politely declined by Kakashi before the hearty-eyes Naruto could accept and hug the inviter. The fox-like boy was already launching obnoxious protests when his sensei dragged him out of the rich man's residence, which unbeknownst to him, was for goodness' sake.

A moment later he found himself shivering as his face turned to a dark shade of blue from the mentioning of varieties of food their generous client usually ate. Judging from Kakashi's somber voice, perhaps the jounin had experienced it by himself. Really, rich people did have _weird_ taste.

"That _thing_ is so damn heavy," Naruto grumbled as he massaged his sore shoulder. His black-haired teammate silently agreed and was thankful to see their village gate looming not too far under the steadily darkening sky. He could really use a bath to get rid of these uncomfortable sensations of dried sweat clinging to his skin. Then perhaps he could start to think what was actually happening to him. Only that thought had made him seethe.

As they approached the gate in leisure pace, Sasuke noticed a heavy upgrading to the guarding level of the entrance. Many chuunins could be seen passing to and fro, checking the passer-bys with a stern look on their faces, some of them were performing a jutsu he didn't recognize. The meticulous inspection caused a short queue in front of the gate, which they joined in since there was no other way they could go in to the village. Perhaps the Hokage had scolded them pretty bad due to the morning incident yesterday.

Standing behind the many inspectors was Morino Ibiki, whom he recognized at the first glance; no one could ever mistake him for anyone else anyway. As soon as they arrived in front of the chuunins, the jounin stepped forward and talked quietly with Kakashi while his hands were performing the jutsu Sasuke had just seen a while ago. The chuunin in front of him was completing the same sequence of seals, which he looked warily at.

"It's a jutsu used for detection," Kakashi's voice answered his unspoken thought. The black-haired boy looked up at his sensei, noting the first examiner placing a hand on Kakashi's left shoulder as his own inspector did the same to him. "With this jutsu we can check if someone is really the person he or she looks like. The jutsu will react to the chakra you have to exert if you're using a henge."

"This is necessary," Ibiki told them matter-of-factly at the indignant look on Naruto's face that someone would dare to suspect him as an impostor. "We can't risk more incident to take place."

"Of course," Kakashi nodded and hauled his subordinates in to the village before they could cause a longer traffic jam. Then he whirled around and waved cheerfully at his fellow jounin, "Have a happy inspecting, Ibiki." The scar-faced jounin might have been known as a professional in interrogation and torture, but right now the feared and honored Morino Ibiki could only scowl in return at his younger friend.

"Well then, I'm going home now," Sakura said, trying to overwhelm Naruto's loud tuneless singing of 'Ramen, ramen' which almost made their silent teammate wince in pain. Sasuke could feel the pair of blue eyes on him, but he was trying so hard not to look at _that_ direction since there was no way he would let himself to be tricked like yesterday. The Uchiha clan might be rich but that didn't mean that he could waste his money on a futile effort such as trying to make a ravenous idiot like his blond teammate bored of ramen. The day Naruto said he hated ramen might as well be the day Uchiha Sasuke loaned himself freely to the hands of obsessive fangirls.

"9 a.m. tomorrow at the bridge," Kakashi informed them.

Not really listening, Sakura walked off followed by Naruto –the ramen stall was to the same direction. The remaining member of Team 7 was about to leave too when his instructor's voice eliminated his strides at once, "What happened?"

Sasuke stared at the one lazy eye, which added with the casual tone of voice would lead most people to believe that the silver-haired jounin actually didn't give a damn care to his blunder. But Sasuke wasn't most people. He knew better, still he didn't have any intention to tell anyone, even as close as Kakashi, about his hand slipping off because of a mere shot of pain. It was all too disgraceful.

The Uchiha only shrugged, answering flatly, "My hand slipped, that's all." At his sensei's disbelieving look he added, "I apologized, okay?"

Instead of accusing his subordinate for being dishonest, the jounin curved his eyes into a smile. It made the black-haired boy slightly wary. From many long and hard-earned experiences, he knew that Kakashi's smile had never been a good sign.

"Let's have a dinner, Sasuke."

Damn right, it wasn't. Had he been eating something, Sasuke would have sputtered the content of his mouth. "...what...?"

Ignoring the somewhat incoherent question, the masked jounin tapped his hands together in satisfaction. "Excellent. Now let's go." Cheerfully, he dragged the sullen-looking Uchiha who was trying his best to death-glare his sensei.

* * *

"Ne, Naruto, did you see what happened?"

The asked boy looked up from the dusty road his feet were treading to his pink-haired teammate. Her opaque green eyes were clouded in worry as she stared at him. Crinkling his face into a clueless fox-like expression, he asked obliviously, "See what?"

Sakura clicked her tongue in impatience as if inquiring to herself why she had ever come to the thought to ask _him_ in the first place. If she, the sharp and analytical one in Team 7 didn't realize, certainly no one expected that Naruto would. Nevertheless, her anxiety over the only boy she had ever liked told her to prod on in case the other boy did see something.

"About Sasuke-kun, baka."

"Oh, _him_." The kunoichi almost smacked Naruto over the head at the disgusted tone he was using, but she restrained herself in case the blond boy would actually tell her something informative. "He almost failed the mission, what's new about that?"

A square hit landed nicely on top of Naruto's head, which she thought was very well-deserved. The boy really had to learn that their previous myriad almost-failures were primarily caused by him.

Rubbing his head softly, the kyubi boy mumbled inarticulately about injustice in this cruel world and gazed downward. He wasn't exactly looking at Sasuke that time, but he had managed to catch a grimace on the other boy's face when he turned to see if Sakura had done the sleep-inducing spell. It was what actually put a queer force out of the blue on him to pull the snake. Psychologists would probably call it an unintended revelation of denied concern, but he chose to go with a need to make his rival feel less superior.

"Maybe there's a bug in his shirt," he muttered, unaware that he hadn't said it inwardly.

"A bug?" That did it and on the next second his friend were already howling in front of his ears. "_A bug_?? Do you think _a bug_ can force Sasuke-kun to disrupt an important mission, Naruto?!"

"Who knows!" The other insisted, throwing his arms to the air in process. "What if the bug went into his... you know, private places where could be really uncomforta-"

Another whack arrived on his head, deterring the remaining of his words as Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs, "You're not saying that in front of a lady!" Naruto seemed to have a difficulty to decide whether it was his head or his ears which needed a massage the most since both were throbbing painfully. Sakura snorted unsympathetically. "Why did I ask you anyway?"

"Ask him then! He can answer that question better than me!" her friend pointed out.

The pink-haired genin once again sighed, a sad smile gracing her lips. "And why would he answer me? I know he loathes for others to pity him or to think that he is weak. Sasuke-kun will rather hide the fact that he is in pain if it can stop people from worrying about him. He hates weakness, he hates to make mistakes, and now he must be angry to himself for committing one."

For the second time that day, Naruto was beyond speechless. He pitied and admired the girl at the same time for being so compassionate to the one she liked, while he had always thought that her feeling was no more than a childish crush. It might wear off as time passed by, but Sakura had showed something that brought the blonde boy up to the point of despising himself. He had seen it twice, the wince on Sasuke's face, and he still didn't give a damn care about it. Kakashi's effort to teach them about the importance of teamwork obviously failed the most on him.

Sometimes he wondered why he hated Sasuke so much. Kakashi-sensei once told them that people tended to hate someone who resembled themselves the most, yet he didn't pay much heed about it since the ice prince and Uzumaki Naruto had too many differences to be listed, so the theory was just plain wrong, or so he had thought. However, every single word that Sakura had said about Sasuke described her blonde friend as well, even if she didn't mean it that way.

His jounin sensei might be right again, as usual.

"Hey, isn't that the third examiner of the chuunin exam?" Sakura's voice drew his meandering thoughts back to her. He averted his gaze to where she was pointing with her eyes and saw a bandana-ed man with a straw between his lips walking out of the village morgue. His face was a pale shade and there was a revolted expression painted on his usually impassive visage, but it could be the inadequate light tricking his eyes. A group of shinobis appeared from the morgue, following the jounin who had blended with the crowd of people into the night of Konoha.

* * *

Sasuke stared at the empty bowl in front of him which previously had katsudon inside it a moment ago and wondered for the umpteenth time how the hell he had let himself to be pulled all the way to this outdoor restaurant. To tell truthfully, if he had come out of his own free will, he might have enjoyed the place. The tables were laid under the thick veil of starry night, just at the side of a riverbank and the food were really good. From his table he could see fireflies floating across the river, coated in their small blinking lights while cicadas spoiled his ears with their soft chirps. Swirling around him, the night wind was cooling, washing the prior heat of summer sun off his skin. Really, this place wasn't a problem. The man sitting across him was.

The silver-haired jounin was –again– accomplishing his ritual of reading Icha Icha Paradise under a very insufficient light. Between the occasional chuckles coming from the man, Sasuke wondered if his instructor was still aware that he was there. For him, being ignored was almost as abominable as being pitied, or being questioned in this case.

The raven-haired boy lifted his glass and drained its content in one gulp, before setting it back on the table with a thud louder than necessary. "I'm going home," he declared in a 'don't-mess-with-me' tone.

Finally there was a reaction coming from his sensei as the jounin closed his book, putting it on the table beneath the fold of his hands. He looked at his silently fuming subordinate for a moment before diverting his eyes to the sky, starting to ramble, "Ah, look, Sasuke, that is the Big Dipper. Can you see it? And there, those three stars forming a line is Orion. How lucky we are that there is almost no cloud tonight. Look, we can even see Sagittarius..."

Dumbfounded beyond spoken words, the Uchiha could only gape at the masked jounin. Yesterday had been water and birds and today stars? What next? _Naruto_? He was seriously contemplating to take his instructor to a mental institution. And it was not as if they could actually see the stars with so many lights emitted from the village, however clear and cloudless the night might be. Of course he might be able to see them if he used the Sharingan, but Sasuke wasn't about to spend his exclusively inherited ability in stargazing. And where did that _Naruto_ came from??

"...Cepheus and Volans there," Kakashi paused amidst his infuriatingly interminable talk as he squinted his one visible eye at the sky to his left. "Wait a minute, is that Libra? I can't really see it as scales-"

"Kakashi," Sasuke cut the jounin's lectures about constellations sternly. "I'm fine, okay?"

His instructor did stop and stared at him with an eye that obviously did not belong to any star-constellations rambler. Then he said, very slowly, "What happened, Sasuke?"

The younger shinobi gritted his teeth. Oh, being ignored was probably much better than being questioned; he could have just left back then. "I'm fine," he repeated, more firmly.

From his chair he could see Kakashi's eye narrowed into an ominous slit. "I've never expected you to be this weak, Sasuke," the jounin said blatantly. "Your obstinacy is foolish, and yet you try to keep it. You are too weak, too scared to admit that you too have weaknesses and can show them. You act though while in reality you are only being selfish and weak by letting those who care for you worried."

As soon as the jounin had finished, the younger shinobi stood up, so roughly that he sent his chair tumbling backward in process. "What the hell you know about that?!"

"Look, you can't even control your anger. And you're angry for me calling you weak?" his sensei stated coldly.

Sasuke's eyes turned into a pair of red blazing flames. "Listen here, Sir I-know-all jounin," he shot mockingly, his voice was a thin glaze of ice. "I don't think you're the one to talk with what you did in Wave Country. You acted though back then, shielding us with your so unwavering bravery, pushing yourself to your limit, and making your subordinates worried. You were too scared to show your weakness, weren't you? And you're telling me those things while you're at it yourself?"

"I've never said that I'm not weak."

_That_ line again. "Then don't you dare go lecturing me about any of it!" The Uchiha shouted and strode away, leaving his sensei in the company of his rage. He could feel the other guests' eyes on him, but he was too furious to even look at them.

Letting his feet guide him home automatically, Sasuke sauntered along the deserted road while his mind was wandering in its own seething realm. Kakashi was really the most vexatious hypocrite he had ever met. His words were utter nonsense, full stop.

Were they?

Was he actually making them worried? Wasn't he actually trying to spare them from worrying about him needlessly?

The little stroll seemed to cool off his anger and he felt somewhat guilty at the words he had thrown to the jounin. To tell the truth, Kakashi was someone precious to him and now perhaps he couldn't gain him back. The thought somehow made the Uchiha cringe slightly. His precious people were few and he wasn't ready to lose one of them now. Not now.

These emotions were all too new for him; to be told bluntly that he was weak, to realize that what he had believed all the way were only making those precious to him worried, and to feel fear of losing someone. He was not used to them, which made him react quite violently back then.

The Uchiha residence was just around the corner when he suddenly felt the presence of four persons spying on him. At the side of the empty road he was ambling was a line of trees. Played by the wind, their branches were waving like dark menacing hands sprouting from their sturdy trunks. Whom they were waiting for, he could not tell, but it could be him.

All he had to do was to find out. Sasuke slowed his pace down when he was passing a particular tree where two of them were hiding, as he started to count inwardly.

_/One.../_ Still no reaction.

_/Two.../_ One of them stirred, he could sense the movement.

_/Three.../_ A sound of two kunais being pulled out. Oh yes, they were obviously aiming for him. The black-haired gennin activated his Sharingan; the attack should be coming soon.

_/Fou- here they come!/ _

Four shadows, as he had expected, emerged from the trees with a speed almost competing the sound. They could have taken him down already if their prey didn't posses the pair of red eyes. Leaping high to the night air, he failed their ambush and fished two kunais out, stabbing each to two of his opponents. One of them could dodge it, whom he quickly kicked straight in the face, sending the attacker to lie unconsciously against a hard tree bark. Two down. Only two left-

All of a sudden, another shot of pain went through his head. It felt as if a thousand of needles were trying to make their ways out of his brain at once. The horrible sting sent him to his knees clutching his hair in a desperate grip. He would even tear his hair out, all of it, if he could reduce the pain.

Abruptly aware that he was still in a fight, Sasuke looked up, finding the rest of his opponents lunging at him with their kunai glinting between their fingers. He forced himself to move a little, but it was still insufficient to fully dodge the attack. Noticing his lack of choices, the Uchiha brought his hands up to cover his head and the most critical areas he could think of, waiting the kunai to pierce his body.

Then suddenly the pain disappeared.

He was astonished yet wasting no time to ponder about it if he could finally do something to evade from the attack. And the next millisecond, he found himself unable to move a single joint of his body, as if something had completely stopped his movement. Angry and confused beyond imagination, he could only watch the two shinobis charging at him.

A shadow appeared before his eyes and the Uchiha found himself looking at his sensei. The jounin easily took them down by giving their neck a hit from behind. At the same exact time, his body gained its control back.

Squatting before the unconscious men, Kakashi turned one of them carefully. Coating the unknown guest's brow was a forehead protector with a symbol of a single note carved on it. A Sound ninja.

"Obviously Orochimaru hasn't lost his interest on you," the jounin instructor stated, his single eye resting on a pair of Sharingan. "Why did you freeze?"

Leaning back to the wall behind him, Sasuke bit his lips and decided to tell his sensei since his syndromes had gone worse: he had actually lost the control over his own body. If Kakashi hadn't arrived, he might have been carried to the morgue by now, to lie beside the unknown man found yesterday morning. Or worse, he could have been brought to the feet of Orochimaru.

The silver-haired jounin was listening silently at his subordinate's rather short explanation. His visible eye had narrowed as the details were told and his stare grew sharper with each second. By the time Sasuke finished his clarification, the older shinobi had practically been glaring at him.

After glowering in silence for a while, Kakashi said evenly, "You're coming with me to see the Hokage tomorrow morning. Meet me at the bridge earlier at eight." As soon as he finished putting a sleep-inducing spell on the Oto-nins, he stood up, still looking at his subordinate. "Listen, Sasuke, I need you to be alert even when you are sleeping. This attack most likely tells us that you are still catching his eyes, but whether it means that he still needs you alive or the contrary, in other words, a dead you, is still unknown to us. Tell me if that pain appears again."

Only half-listening to the jounin, the raven-haired boy stared wordlessly to Kakashi who was now performing the spell to the remaining of his unconscious guests. After all of those things Sasuke had uncouthly said, his sensei didn't even make a problem out of it. He had no idea what had Kakashi seen in him to put so much patience. Or how he had so much patience in general to deal with things of this nature.

"Kakashi," before he could stop it, the name had slipped out of his lips. The called one looked up, inquiry looming in his eye.

It was so hard to spill _that_ word and he was about to say it for the second time today after who-knows how long. Steadying his voice after a gulp, he blurted out, "I'm sorry."

The other simply looked at him, as if contemplating the actual meaning of the two words. Slowly a smile creased his black mask. "No need to worry. When we are giving birth to something new, it always hurts. Perhaps we only have to believe that what actually lies beneath the pain is for the better." With that he paused, allowing his eye to shape a curve. "Just don't lie to me again, Sasuke."

A very small almost unnoticeable smile adorned the boy's lips, which soon altered into a smirk. "We'll see about that, _Sensei_."

"Well, I'm going to report this now. Don't forget to meet me tomorrow morning." Then the jounin disappeared into a puff of smoke.

With a considerably lighter heart, Sasuke resumed his walk. Maybe, just maybe, he could finally put an end to the world of utter loneliness engulfing him. Well, he would never know unless he gave it a try.

As soon as he turned the corner, a sight of his blonde teammate pacing back and forth in front of the gate of Uchiha residence with his mouth mumbling incoherently greeted his eyes. The said teammate also noticed him at once and practically shouted at the top of his lungs. "Where the hell have you been, Sasuke?!" his yell rang throughout the rather deserted alley.

Leaving the question unanswered, the other boy frowned instead, "What are you doing here, dobe?"

"Great!" Naruto trotted back and complained to no one in particular. "Look at him! I've waited here for an hour and he doesn't even have the courtesy to stop calling me names!"

"_What are you doing here?_"

"To ask what happened to you, asshole!" The shorter boy was bellowing so loud that it forced Sasuke to take a several steps back. As stout and fearless as he was, the Uchiha still preferred to use a pair of functionally normal eardrums to damaged ones. "Sakura-chan is totally worried about you! But she doesn't want to bother you by asking, so I'll do it!" Pausing to catch his breath, he glared at the taller boy. "What was that in the forest?"

Sasuke only smirked. "What makes you think that I'll tell you?"

"You bastard!" Naruto coiled his hand into a fist and sent a punch straight to the other gennin's face, which was effortlessly stopped by another hand clenching his wrist.

The smirk only went even wider. "When will you learn that such reckless attacks will never work against me, moron?"

There was a dangerous glint flashing in the kyubi boy's eyes as suddenly, with a speed Sasuke had never thought the other possessed, he pushed his black-haired teammate and pinned him against the wooden gate. Both of his hands were on the other boy's shoulders, gripping them tightly as he leant closer. "Listen you, smartass, I don't care if you want to keep that oh-so-cool attitude, but she is so damn worried about you! Aren't we teammates?! Why can't you just tell us?! You're making me-" Suddenly he stopped as if a steel pipe had been shoved into his throat to silence him.

Sasuke raised his perfectly curved eyebrows. "I'm making you what?"

Naruto looked as if he all of a sudden suffered a high fever with the flush breeding on his face. Looking at his taller friend's smug face, the blonde gennin roared in obvious rebuff, "Forget what I said! Just forget it! Now you tell me!"

The other boy shrugged. "If Sakura is the one worried, I'll simply have to tell her, right? Why should I tell you?"

Face crinkling in anger, Naruto shouted, "Fine, you damn asshole! Forget that I've ever asked anything!"

Sasuke watched his raging friend leave. Something stirred inside of him; he was definitely making them worried, even if Naruto had tried so hard to deny it. Perhaps Kakashi was right that he was weak but still, he didn't know what to do with that little something he had comprehended. Turning on his heels, the black-haired boy pushed it to the back of his mind, dismissing the thought at least for now until someone dared to knock and wake it up.

* * *

The late night air greeted him as Kakashi walked out of the ANBU headquarter where he had just reported the attack on Sasuke. The Sound ninjas had been taken care of by a squad of ANBU but the captain had demanded a full elaboration from the copy ninja which took quite some time. He had no intention of telling anybody but the Hokage about Sasuke suffering sporadic attacks of pain and he was quite careful not to mention it.

A little walk led him to the border of Konoha forest while he was deep in thought about things happening in the village recently. The Uchiha's pain, above all worried him especially since it managed to make the boy lose his control over his body, which he had no idea how and why.

The forest was just ahead, looming threateningly in its eternal darkness and shade. He was about to turn back to the village, to his house, when a figure under one of the trees caught his eyes. Whoever the person was, was sitting with legs-crossed, back facing the masked jounin. Even with the darkness and all, a name immediately lit his mind once he had taken a better look.

The sitting man, on the other hand, seemed to have noticed his visitor's presence also. A loud clear voice filled the still night as he spoke, "Kakashi-san, isn't it?"

Cautiously the silver-haired jounin let a name answered. "Kabuto."

"You seem to always know that it is me," the voice which replied to his one-word assertion was filled with amusement. "An ability you have developed with your Sharingan, Kakashi-san?"

A pale hand reached up to push his forehead protector up, revealing the referred eye to the night to see. At the same moment the other man rose to his feet, as if being intimidated by the blood red Sharingan and the damage it could bring upon him. "No need to be on guard, I'm not here to fight," he said with a tone which probably would be believable if it was not the bespectacled guy who had said it.

The silver-haired jounin only asked back, "Then what are you doing here? Feeling nostalgic to the old village you have betrayed?"

A chuckle answered his sarcastic question as the other turned to face him, dark eyes glinting behind a pair of glasses. "You have something wrong here, Kakashi-san. I have never been the shinobi of Konoha to begin with."

Time passed while the two stared at each other, both were wary that the other might start an attack. Suddenly Kabuto raised both of his hand, an action which made his opponent quickly pull out a kunai. A smile that had been more alarming than comforting appeared on his lips. "It is a great pleasure to meet you again, and the Sharingan also, but unfortunately I have to leave now."

The jounin might have smirked under his mask. "Running away from me again, aren't you?"

Kabuto smiled modestly. "The time has not come for us to fight, Kakashi-san. It will come soon." Then he vanished into the thin air.

Kakashi stared impassively at the forest and its shadow, his mind was reeling. It was too much for a coincidence that Sasuke was attacked by a group of Sound ninjas and he himself discovered a Sound spy lurking at Konoha forest at the same night. What was going on?

To Be Continued

**Notes:** It has been this long and I haven't even reached the main plot yet -- About the errors which probably occur up there, I'm not familiar with the trait of snakes so if the anaconda behaves very un-snake-like, please forgive my lack of information. Hopefully, everything can happen in Naruto world... Second, I hope Sasuke isn't too OOC up there (the way he gets angry to Kakashi and stuff) and I really apologize if Kakashi sounds like an old man who pretends to know everything. He only wants to help Sasuke, that's all.

Thank you for reading! Please give me reviews!


	3. Chapter Three: A Day of Nothing Much

**A/N: **The third chapter, finally! A new thing I need to point out is, this story may have Kakashi/Genma, but I'm not too sure about that myself. I'm teetering between Kakashi/Genma and Kakashi/Kabuto... Anyway, thank you for everybody who had reviewed: **ghostninja85, Dark Mimiru-chan, viciouscallisto, Dearest, AkuReiX. **

To **Kunai**: No, definitely no OC. I don't really relish that idea either. My favorite pairing for Kakashi is Gai/Kakashi but in this story, all they have is friendship because I want to try something new. Thank you for the review (you said that I was a good writer, I worship those words sigh blissfully) and I hope my choice doesn't disappoint you!

To **Bishiehuggler**: I'm thinking about love triangle but it's a bit difficult because I have two main pairings. To get Naruto and Sasuke together is hard enough and if I add a Kakashi love-triangle... Let's see what I can do... Thanks again for the review! I always enjoy reading yours! By the way, this chapter is dedicated to you XD

Thanks to **kyubi-san**, the greatest beta-reader one can find!

**DISCLAIMER:** Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto, I obviously don't.

**WARNING:** This contains male/male pairings: Naruto/Sasuke and may be Kakashi/Genma.

_/Italic words in here/_ are for thoughts.

**Reflection of Passion**

**Author: SIB**

**Chapter Three: A Day of Nothing Much**

The office of the Hokage was drowned in heavy silence after the occupants heard about the previous night's two incidents from their copy ninja. Sitting behind the only desk in the room with arms propping her chin was the Hokage herself, her eyes were closed in deep contemplation. Asuma, who was standing near the window, looked at her with a tad of sympathy. First, to her hands was given a half-destroyed village, and then while she was trying with all her might to piece the bits and slices back together, problems seemed to keep appearing, slowing, even ceasing most of her attempts.

It was seven in the morning, a very unearthly hour to call for a meeting, but Tsunade was left with no choice since her schedule permitted her at no other time. Fidgeting her fingers restlessly, she opened her eyes, revealing a picture of weariness, also an unyielding strength of determination, and looked up to meet Kakashi's waiting gaze.

"Is that all?" Asuma almost cringed at the tone of voice she was using. It was bitter, as if the Hokage was expecting more ill news from the silver-haired jounin.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." She and the rest jounins in the office huffed in relief at his meek answer. "However I've told Sasuke that he had to meet you later at eight, in case his attacks are only the symptoms of a certain disease."

"I think I can manage that," the pale-haired woman leant back to her chair as she tried to remember her schedule for the day. "Actually I have to visit the east side of the village but I can spare some times to examine him first. It shouldn't take too long." Inwardly she actually doubted her own words since she had no recollection at all of ever handling a similar case. This one would have been interesting from her medical point of view, if only she hadn't been snowed in already under loads of Hokage's responsibilities.

After a minute of roaming in her thoughts, the Hokage turned to look at Ibiki –he was there due to Kakashi's report, which implied that they once again had let at least five intruders into the village– who was silently standing beside her. "Got anything to add?"

The current captain of interrogation and torture, also the new head of security, lowered his gaze to meet Tsunade's eyes, voice harsh and somber, "I am not defending myself, Hokage-sama, but my boys and I have done every acts of precaution we were able to think of. As for the intrusion Kakashi mentioned, regrettably I cannot provide you with a plausible answer how they had escaped our scrutiny. Of course I am ready to take the responsibilities."

Ignoring the last statement, the Hokage looked around at her other jounins. "Is there anyone here who can tell me," her voice was stern, almost desperate, "explain to me, or maybe just give me an idea –I will accept even the weirdest, the most impossible you can come with– _how _the hell anyone not a civilian of this village can just walk in and pass the detection jutsu?" Then suddenly, as if she had gotten an idea herself, she redirected her eyes back to Ibiki. "Tell me you have checked every single one person setting their feet on this village. Tell me you didn't let any one of them pass unchecked because you felt you knew them well enough or just because there were too many people to check,"

A light flickered on the man's eyes, rousing wariness from the rest inhabitants of the room. "With all due respect, Hokage-sama," he answered coldly, "I was there at the main gate for most of the times in these two days and if I weren't, Raidou was. I can assure you that none of us would let any of your indictments happened. Not a single one as long as we were there."

"Ibiki," came the warning voice of Asuma, "I believe Hokage-sama isn't accusing you on anything."

Tsunade slumped back to her chair, hand resting on her forehead as she mumbled, "I'm sorry," to the man beside her. Asuma let go the relieved breath he was unconsciously holding at the hint of sympathy which softened Ibiki's firm eyes. If the Hokage could age normally, she would have looked like someone's a hundred year-old grandmother by now with this number of unsolved riddles eating her patience and strength. If anything, the dark circles around her eyes were one of the many evidences.

"We'll put this matter at rest for now, but keep your eyes open. If you find any idea related to this, anything, tell me immediately," at last she decided and then turned to Genma. "Anything new from the autopsy?"

The brown-haired jounin nodded and stepped forward to place a bundle of papers before the Hokage. "It's the more detailed autopsy report, Hokage-sama," he said impassively. "Concisely, our mystery man had his brain crushed."

At his words, Tsunade quickly reached for the report and began to read while the other jounins stared at him with various expressions colouring their faces.

"Crushed?" Gai repeated, rather horrified by the news. "What do you mean 'crushed'?"

"Into tiny bits and pieces. It's like you're stabbing it repeatedly until it is crushed." At the rather disturbing mental image, most of his listeners cringed in repulsion. Even the beautiful green beast of Konoha, deliberately or not, brought his hand up to feel his head dramatically, as if convincing himself that the contents were still there, intact and uncrushed.

"Must be a pretty sight," Kakashi commented unhelpfully, single eye fixed at his bandana-ed friend.

"Definitely. I think you should see it by yourself for a prettier sight," the said friend remarked sarcastically, provoking shudders from his other colleagues. "Brain is not particularly hard substance, you know. It isn't that difficult to crush a brain."

"But into tiny bits and pieces??" Asuma demanded, voice rising slightly in panic. "Didn't you say that this man had his whole body unhurt and unscratched? So how the hell someone could crush this man's brain without opening or damaging his skull?"

A rather loud sound of paper coarsely making contact with the wooden table diverted their attentions back to the Hokage. Her slightly shaking hand was cradling her limp head, resembling a portrait of a powerless old woman more than ever. Her eyes were unfocused, a pair of wild wandering orbs looking around the room as if they were seeking for both answers and a pillar which could support her overladen shape. With a tired voice, she mumbled to no one in particular, "Explain to me. Please, give me an explanation what in earth are _these_."

When no answer came, she closed her eyes and used her free hand to point at one of the papers. "You wrote here that whoever did this was presumably using strings to do that."

"Or thread," Genma's cautious voice confirmed. "Any shinobi can do it with a bundle of sewing yarn added with enough chakra and power. But as for how someone can do it without opening his cranium is still beyond me. There is no reattaching mark or any kind of surgical trace found if the cranium was indeed sliced open."

"These whole thing feel Orochimaru-ish to me," Asuma murmured, staring out of the office window. Birds were dancing on leafy branches, happily chirping their early morning song under the bright stare of warm sun. The real living picture of undisturbed tranquility brought a bitter smile to his lips. It was during these times when Shikamaru and his idea of an enjoyable life really proved to be influential on him, when he wished that he were one of those birds, singing merrily, oblivious to any peril threatening their village.

_/Stop that,/_ he scolded himself firmly and focused his stare back into the room, right as Kakashi's hand reached forward to take the report scattered on the Hokage's desk. The silver-haired jounin scanned the report, written in Genma's neat handwriting with a few rough sketches at the side. Vaguely he heard Gai speculating if they could insert the strings through ears, which was objected at once by Genma, telling him that unless a string that was soft enough not to scratch eardrums yet strong enough to crush brain had been invented, the theory was fairly impossible. Also even the most skilled medical jounin wouldn't be able to guide the string sightlessly through the narrow tortuous tract inside the ear.

Somehow the last sentence caught his interest. What was it with 'medical jounin' or 'ear tract'?

Suddenly Kakashi shot his head upward at an idea crossing his mind. Cursing himself inwardly for not realizing it sooner, he asked, "Ibiki, you know the jutsu which can thoroughly change someone's appearance right? Does your detection jutsu react to that?"

The taller man looked at the younger jounin, apprehension dawned in his eyes. "I don't know," he answered after a short pondering. "It is a jutsu forbidden to be performed unless we are under a dead-end situation. I have never seen nor learned it before since it is rarely used and only shinobis with medical background can use it."

"Kabuto," the copy ninja said resolutely.

"Only one little problem we have here," Genma pointed out as his toothpick stirred up and down, played by his teeth. "The jutsu is irreversible. They cannot change their face back, but none of us found their faces recognizable if they indeed disguised themselves as someone from Konoha."

"Oh damn," Asuma groaned, "I thought we were so close."

Tsunade, who was staring blankly to the chain of scenes before her, finally spoke up. "I'm afraid it's a jutsu we don't know about. There are many forbidden ones which even I haven't learned of. I'll take a look once more at the forbidden scrolls later, just to make sure that Orochimaru didn't steal it from there. That guy is really pissing me off."

"He may have invented it, Hokage-sama," Gai suddenly said, earning more desperate glances from many directions. "I mean, who knows! Kakashi can invent Chidori and we all know that Orochimaru have completed that immortal jutsu. What's the problem with creating one more which can crush people's feeble brain?"

"Oh, great!" The Hokage growled as she rose and paced around her office. "A jutsu which can crush people's brain, perhaps even from afar! Why didn't I crush his brain when he was young still and _eliminable_? It can save us from many problems."

"Sandaime might have thought about that also, Hokage-sama," Ibiki told her quietly.

At the mentioning of her late teacher, the pale-haired woman stopped her strides by the window, looking outside silently. For a second she wished that someone other were the Hokage, not her. All she had to do then were just sitting with Shizune by the hearth, waiting for an order from the Hokage and the Council without giving a damn care of the many choices and hazards which were following them. She didn't have to _decide _and she could comfortably blame the higher authorities if something went wrong because they were the ones who decided.

_/I begin to whine like a maudlin bitch,/_ Tsunade laughed to herself dryly. Worse as it seemed, at least with her as the highest authority, she could assure herself that the Hokage would choose the best option laid before her, that she wouldn't abandon her people for her own benefit. She might have run away long ago, but she didn't plan to do the same mistake twice.

"We can mourn later, when all these are over," the Hokage said resolutely, half to herself. "As for now-"

A train of knocks at the door ceased her words and a moment later Shizune came in. "Tsunade-sama, the Council is already waiting for you. We should depart immediately to fulfill the schedule."

"I'll be there shortly, just give me a minute," the Hokage said briskly and turned to the rest of jounins in her office. "Off you go, boys. And we won't have a meeting tomorrow morning unless circumstances tell us so. And you three," she set her firm gaze at Asuma, Gai, and Kakashi, "I... don't know what to say but your teams still have to do these C, D-rank missions. Half of them give us more than most A-rank ones, you know how those lazy rich people behave. I hate to say this but we _need_ the money for our village."

The three jounin instructors nodded, acknowledging their financial situation with half of the village destroyed. Many lost their homes and there were more orphans now that needed to be supported. Even with his main plan failed, Orochimaru had succeeded to make the village he loathed so much miserable.

A second later Tsunade resumed, "I know we are suffering a shortage of jounins and chuunins, but I still need you here to watch those kids," at those words her eyes rested longer on the silver-haired jounin. "Mishap can happen, even in the easiest mission."

Another knocks disturbed the room, louder than the last. A look of despair mixed with mounting irritation crossed the Hokage's face as she hissed to the door. "Yes, I'm coming!" Quickly she gave her order to Kakashi, "Bring the Uchiba boy now, we don't have much time," then turned to the bandana-ed one, "and you stay here with me to examine him."

As soon as the jounins had left save for Genma, she leant back to the windowsill, eyes staring into space. These endless problems were slowly consuming her, but for how more long she could carry on, even herself could not tell. Silently she hoped that the strong stubborn girl she once had been could lend her the strength she needed to protect the precious village, one so dear to her.

Fluttering her eyes to a close, she smiled wryly to the bleak wooden ceiling. _/Damn you asshole. You have never been here when I need you./_

* * *

"This is an insult!"

Kakashi looked up from the page of Icha Icha Paradise he was reading to a blond boy standing furiously before him, hands on his hips. The jounin instructor sighed; would this ever end?

Without giving his sensei a chance to ask what was wrong, Naruto started to complain, "This is so unfair, Sensei! Why we have to do a D-rank mission again after yesterday we were risking our lives to catch a snake?! This is a total humiliation! I mean, I already can do the Rasengan and you want me to search for a damn tiny diamond?!"

From his sitting place under a tree facing green vast lawn crammed with lots of knee-high weeds, the jounin could see his other subordinate obediently carrying out her duty. He had never understood this phenomenon but diamond seemed to put females under some kind of spell, which made even Sakura –and her inner persona too– conduct herself as a docile sweet girl. As soon as he had announced their task for today, the girl rushed out enthusiastically, promising her sensei sincerely that she would be the first to find the diamond.

Unfortunately Naruto was immune to the diamond and its spell. Kakashi stared at the bright orange boy who was still ranting about his dream to be a Hokage, who should not do a worthless mission which credibility was questionable. "...search for a diamond, Kakashi-sensei! A diamond! Anyone can do this! Even students at the academy can do it! That old hag shouldn't order us, shinobis, to do this mission!"

"It worth a lot you know," the copy ninja said. "You can buy all ramen that you want along with the shop with that diamond."

Naruto's eyes bulged at this new information. "The whole shop? And the ramen too??" he repeated in complete disbelief. "You mean her mother let this little girl to play with something which cost that much??"

"The mother didn't know that her daughter took it back then, until the little girl told her that she had lost it," his sensei elaborated absentmindedly as he turned the page of his book to read more. "You know, Naruto, I have an impression that you, even though with the Rasengan and all, are unable to do this mission. That's why you complain so much."

There was an indignant look on the kyubi boy's face. "This mission?! This is a piece of cake!"

"And you haven't found the diamond yet, why is that?"

Stomping his feet angrily to where Sakura was squatting amidst the towering weeds in devoted concentration, Naruto growled in response. "Fine! I'll search for it! Satisfied now??" Yet, before the silver-haired jounin could feel relieved of the serenity he eventually earned, the boy had trotted back. "Wait a minute! Sensei, why Sasuke is the only one called by that old hag?"

"Who knows," the answer came nonchalantly from behind pages of Icha Icha Paradise "Well, we can always try to find out once that diamond is found, if you are that worried."

A red blazing blush began to enflame on Naruto's face as he shouted, "I am NOT worried!"

Still not bothering to look up, Kakashi answered, "Of course you're not, we can be sure of that. Now why don't you stop protesting my words, finish the mission, and then you can enjoy your bowl of ramen. Isn't that better than prolonging our existence here in the middle of nowhere where there is no ramen and Sasuke?"

Naruto was at a total loss of any word facing so many capricious sentences, every each could obliterate his every sense of speaking, put under one intake of breath. He only glared and started to search in a visibly raging aura, stomping at many innocent weeds in process.

Peeking from behind his faithful book, Kakashi in amusement watched the loud boy grumbling incoherently under his breath. The copy ninja amazed even himself with his aptitude in speaking to face Naruto, who was surprisingly easy to be handled if you knew which button to push. Sasuke was easier –although he had to be more careful in facing him– because they resembled each other too much. A small smile emerged beneath his mask; perhaps it was another indication that he had begun to understand his subordinates.

"I found it! Kakashi-sensei, I found it!" Suddenly Sakura cried out almost hysterically. With a very unnatural speed, she whizzed to where her sensei was sitting, followed by her touchy teammate.

"Good job, Sakura," the jounin commended, yet before he could take the pea-sized diamond, an orange-clad hand had snatched it.

"This thing worth a ramen stall??" Naruto's voice echoed anything else but belief. Warily Kakashi eyed the boy's hand which seemed to be hovering in the verge of throwing the diamond back into the lost world of extensive prairie. "You mean I can swallow this diamond thing and feel like have eaten that much ramen?? No way!"

"Of course not, baka!" his pink-haired teammate seized the diamond back in annoyance. "What do you think a diamond is? Food?? You can't-"

Her remaining sermon was eliminated by a train of giggles which came from Naruto's mouth as the boy kneeled over as if he was overwhelmed by his own laughter. Both of his shaking hands were clutching his head while he was rolling on the grass, drowned in laughter that sounded more desperate than invoked by hilarity. For a moment neither Kakashi nor Sakura could move, befuddled by the antics of Naruto who, in this case, truly deserved the title of the number one ninja in surprising people.

It was when the laughter indicated that it wouldn't stop anywhere near soon that the jounin instructor began to feel anxious. He squatted beside his laughing subordinate, asking tentatively, "Oi, Naruto, are you alright?"

"...no...my head..." The kyubi boy managed to squeeze only those three words out of his mouth between his interminable laughter.

Touching Naruto's head cautiously, Kakashi was surprised to find that the chakra of the Nine Tail had been set on loose, whirling frantically inside the boy's head. Focusing his own chakra to accumulate at both of his palms, the copy ninja tried to guide Naruto's excessive red chakra to flow following its normal course. A minute later the gennin had stopped laughing.

"What was it?" Kakashi inquired as Sakura stepped closer, still bewildered by her teammate's weird behavior.

"I don't know," Naruto answered with an equally confused tone as he scratched the back of his head absentmindedly. "I feel... like tickled inside my head. What happened, Kakashi-sensei?" he looked up, catching his instructor's contemplative stare.

Before the jounin could answer, a puff of smoke appeared beside them, followed by an anxious-faced Iruka. His face earned a higher degree of anxiety at the picture of Naruto sitting on the ground with hands clutching his head before him. "Naruto?? Are you alright? What happen to your head? Are you hurt? Did you bump it somewhere?"

Deciding that no one had the answer of those questions yet, Kakashi interjected, "Do you come here to see me?"

"Ah, yes, that's right," the chuunin at once answered, turning his attention to the copy ninja. "Hokage-sama asked me to search for you, Kakashi-san. She is expecting you at her office right now."

"Very well, thank you for the notification," the silver-haired jounin inclined his head, and then turned to his female subordinate who still had a puzzled expression on her face. "Sakura, return the diamond to its owner and I'll come back to you later for the mission report."

The pink-haired kunoichi nodded sincerely and at the next second, the two senior shinobis vanished into another cloud of grey smoke with a farewell from Iruka for Naruto to check for his head in the village hospital if he was indeed hurt. Left behind with their invaluable diamond, the gennins looked at each other, new questions popping up inside their heads.

"Why do I feel like we have grown important for Hokage-sama?" Sakura spoke thoughtfully to her teammate. "Do you think it has anything to do with Sasuke-kun?"

"Maybe they have decided to make me the Hokage," Naruto said rather hopefully.

"In your dreams."

* * *

The sight which greeted Kakashi when he swung the door to the Hokage's office open was an extremely sullen-looking Sasuke adjusting the bandage wrapping his left hand and a very serious-faced Genma talking quietly with the equally solemn Fifth Hokage behind the desk. The three of them looked up at his arrival and Tsunade beckoned him to come near them.

"We've just finished checking him," she nodded at the young Uchiha whose scowl had deepened since his sensei entered. "Well, actually Genma checked him for me because I had those Hokage-business to attend."

"I thought you said the examination wouldn't take too long," the copy ninja said.

"It wouldn't if only I knew what was wrong with him," the pale-haired woman answered, weariness tinting her voice. "Our conclusion is that you have to stay with him for the time being until we find out the cause, whatever it is."

Kakashi's only reaction was a slight raise of his eyebrow while his subordinate choked a very loud 'what?!', horror colouring every space of his face. Had she been less exhausted, the Hokage might have snickered at the hilarious expression her words had invoked.

"I can protect myself!" the black-haired boy exclaimed, looking rather insulted by the decision.

"Of course," she nodded in agreement, "but-"

"I don't need anyone to protect me," Sasuke firmly cut her off, eyes blazing angrily in deep crimson. "What do you think I am? A five year-old kid?? I can do it by myself!"

"We know you can," Tsunade declared with a morsel of impatience. "If I knew what is the cause to your pain, I would have let you go since this morning, or on the contrary, put you in a concreted prison if you proved to be a danger to those around you. Unfortunately I don't know, and since you have this tendency to lose the control over your body out of the blue, you will have your sensei staying at your house for your own safety. Got that? Don't make me lose my patience, boy."

Her authoritative voice silenced the raven-haired boy at once. Noticing the mutinous look his subordinate still held, Kakashi muttered quietly at him, "Be a good boy, Sasuke. This is for your own good. We will only tell Naruto and Sakura if you are that uncomfortable, make it a secret then."

"If those two know, I'll hurt you," the gennin said with a murderous tone.

His instructor only smiled cheerfully. "Good. Now you can go to find them. They haven't stopped to bug me since this morning, asking what was wrong with you."

"Had nothing better to do, did they?"

"Now, don't say that. They are only worried about you," the jounin reprimanded, almost succeeded to make the boy lessen the intensity level of his frown. "I'll see you later at your house. Open the door for me, okay?"

Still glaring at no one in particular, Sasuke walked out of the office, followed by the intent gaze of a very interested Fifth Hokage. She turned to the Konoha copy ninja, very much amazed of how easy the Uchiha heir had relented to his sensei. The young boy seemed to have changed a bit, even if it didn't reduce the superiority complex he had possessed since he was but a little kid.

"You sure have your way with him," she noted in amusement, evoking a small prideful smile from the silver-haired jounin who added nothing more in response. The smile Tsunade had turned into a grave one as she resumed, "He has gone through all tests we could think of and still we found nothing wrong with him. I don't understand this pain you're talking about at all."

"Nothing?"

"Only a few scratches, but he said he got it from missions and last night's attack," Genma replied, playing his toothpick pensively. "According to his story, he didn't do anything irregular or out of ordinary that could possibly inflict this pain."

"Keep an eye on him, Kakashi," Tsunade told her genius jounin austerely. "You know how important he is to our village. If Orochimaru manage to abduct him, that will be the end of Konoha."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the answer came short and sure. Then with a wave of her hand, the Hokage dismissed them both.

The two jounins walked silently through the wood-tiled corridor, passing windows where golden ray of the sunset was filtered into the empty hallway. In the distance, hollow screeches of birds racing to their home soared in the scarlet evening air, warning the residents of Konoha that the moon would rise soon. The two previous nights had been very eventful and they were far from good. Silently Kakashi wished that tonight peace would reign, especially since he had to anticipate anything related to his black-haired subordinate.

As soon as they had been far enough from the Hokage's office and anybody else's range of hearing, the silver-haired jounin stopped and looked at his companion. "You want to say something?"

"About Sasuke," Genma halted beside him, voice much graver than usual and particularly low. "His perfect condition worries me. When I was examining him, I had this familiar feeling very much like when I was performing the necropsy to our mystery man. Look at the facts. We were desperately trying to find a single scratch on that man's body and I was doing the same to Sasuke."

"I was thinking about that too," his friend muttered with a sigh.

"There is one more thing," the bandana-ed jounin continued, lowering his voice even more. "The brain. Sasuke said his head, or to be precise, his brain was the part which suffered those attacks of pain. And you do know what happen to the man I was reporting this morning."

The mask Kakashi was wearing effectively concealed every expression his face could possibly display, but from the gloom in his eyes, Genma could tell that his friend was nowhere near happy to hear the news. They stared at each other in absolute stillness for a while before the copy ninja voiced his doubt. "That's pretty thin, you know."

"Real life always is, but for everybody's sakes let's pray that you are right," the other said grimly. "I can do nothing to his brain. He is an Uchiha, the Sharingan affects his brain in a way only his clan knew how to deal with. It can be dangerous if I risk to open his cranium just to see what happen inside his brain while I don't have any knowledge whatsoever about the Sharingan."

The copy ninja leant back to the wall beside him. "You want me to figure it out."

Genma stared straightly at his masked friend. "Putting Itachi aside, you are the only Sharingan user I know."

Silence once again ruled over them. There were risks, Kakashi realized that, which jeopardized not only himself but also his dear subordinate's life if he deciphered it incorrectly. He was not an Uchiha and his work might be different with Sasuke in handling the Sharingan. Things might get worse, above all if he reminded himself how important the young Uchiha was to their convalescing village. Nevertheless, it might be better than to do nothing. He was a shinobi, Sasuke was a shinobi, and shinobis always took risk as their eternal comrade.

"Don't tell the Hokage," at last he broke the silence.

"I won't," the other jounin told him resolutely. "That's why I didn't say this in front of her. She already has too much to be worried of because she is the pillar of Konoha. I'll take the responsibility if anything goes wrong with this."

"Fine, I'll talk to Sasuke about this," the copy ninja nodded. His friend sighed and was about to resume his strides when the silver-haired jounin said, sternly, "Forget the whole responsibility thing, I won't let you take it alone. You're strong but you still need a pillar. Everybody does."

Genma said nothing.

**_To Be Continued _**

**Notes:** A boring chapter, I know that. All I can say is this chapter is necessary for the next one, which will have a big development for Naruto/Sasuke XD By the way is there somebody who can help me to answer this: about the title earned by Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru, is it _san-nin_ (three ninjas) or _sennin_ (I don't know what this word means, perhaps a rank higher than jounin?) or something else? Please help me if you know. Thank you for reading and please review!


	4. Chapter Four: Life of an Uchiha

**A/N: **After two months of delay, here it is the fourth chapter! Thank you to: **Dearest, Kel, Iceheart19, Random Fan** for answering my question. Also to: **Caer****, ghostninja85,** and **Dream Fox**! You all are my inspiration! XD

To **Bishiehuggler**: As usual, I love to read your review! Other thing we have in common, I too think that Naruto is on top XD I don't really care if he is more hotheaded because Sasuke is… well, in my humble opinion he's the uke…

To **Shinka**: For the answers of your questions: First, Kakashi didn't tell Tsunade because she already had too many to handle. I think he wasn't so sure about that problem with Naruto and thus decided to keep it a secret for himself for a while. Thank you for your support to Kakashi/Genma! I was a bit anxious to start them as a pairing but now I truly love them XD

To **Kuroi**: First of all, thanks for reviewing my two other fics, really love your reviews… About shota, well... I prefer to avoid it if it's still avoidable because I don't really like it. Kakashi's relationship to Sasuke is more a brotherly one (in my opinion…) since I don't think affections are meant for lovers only. And yes, I definitely like Sasuke better with Naruto XD Thanks for your patience (if you are still waiting for this)! Hope you like this chapter!

Last but not least, my deepest gratitude to my beta, **kyubi****-san**!

Please enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER:** Masashi Kishimoto-sensei owns Naruto.

**WARNING:** Male/male pairing (if the summary isn't obvious enough…). And there is Jiraiya/Tsunade too in this chapter.

_Italicized words_ are the words I think important,

_/Italicized words in here/_ are for thoughts.

**Reflection of Passion**

**Author: SIB**

**Chapter Four: Life of an Uchiha**

****

_Never judge a book by its cover._

It was a new policy Sasuke had learned to believe as he began to distinguish the person Hatake Kakashi actually was. Now that he had known him fairly well, his instructor was obviously not a clumsy undependable jounin like his initial reaction in their first meeting had led him to believe. As a shinobi, he was one you would trust your life to and as an adult, he was one you would listen to.

Living with Kakashi taught him to take notice of many things he had always paid as little heed as possible, such as his well-being. Contrary to common belief, the jounin was unbelievably neat and also an excellent cooker, a fact which almost made Sasuke fall out of his chair when his instructor put a far too decent meal –by his standard– on the dining table at their first breakfast together. His daily food had always been scanty –since he ate _just_ because he needed to live– and now he had someone, at least for the time being, who would guarantee him having a proper meal every day. Sometimes it reminded him too much of his mother, or even worse, _Itachi__,_ which was rather unsettling for the young Uchiha.

There were obstacles as well, things which made the fact that he was now no more living alone somewhat disquieting. Sasuke had this habit of using his whole night to mourn for his family or to create and recreate future plans to murder Itachi, which he did regularly every time a nightmare plagued his sleep. Unfortunately it came more frequent ever since his brother forced him to retrace that cursed day using Tsukiyomi Genjutsu in Shikuba Town. But Kakashi said nothing, not even a try to soothe the young boy. Instead, while Sasuke sat silently on the couch with knees propping his chin, cheeks dampened by tears, the older shinobi only settled himself on the windowsill, eyes firmly pinned at the pale orb that was moon, yet fingers occasionally knocking the wooden surface of the sill, as if to convince the young boy that he was not alone.

For the wordless support he offered, Sasuke felt immensely grateful. He wasn't sure how he would take it or how he would react if the jounin had said anything. Things could get awkward.

"Ready?"

His sensei's voice snapped the young Uchiha out of his reveries. Leaning to the front gate casually was the silver-haired jounin, eye still fixed on his bright-covered book but it was obvious that it wasn't the book he attempted a conversation with. Within seconds, Sasuke had finished tying his slippers and soon followed the jounin instructor leaving his residence.

Morning activities enlivened the main street of Konoha with peddling vendors, haggling buyers, and both hasty and relaxed passer-bys for it was nearly nine in the morning. Another consequence of living with Kakashi was that the instruction their Hokage had put on the two compelled them to depart together. It also put an end to the copy ninja's ludicrous orders which demanded his subordinates to gather in a very unearthly hour since it was most likely that Sasuke would drag him to go as well. Sakura might still be offended by the fact that her sensei got to live with her Sasuke-kun, but she along with Naruto also rejoiced at a considerable progress that their instructor was never late anymore.

As a little side note, it also became clear for the young Uchiha that whatever the actual reason of Kakashi's habitual lateness was, it undoubtedly wasn't because he overslept. But he didn't ask, and the jounin didn't explain, which left the details remained unknown.

Well, not that he bothered to know anyway.

"Good morning, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-kun," a tall bespectacled man in his late thirty nodded at them with a smile. Sasuke recognized him as the shopkeeper of Konoha's bookstore, where his sensei often bought his obnoxious novels at. A little chat in the morning with an acquaintance was also something new for Sasuke because no such thing had occurred to him since the massacre of his clan. There were some who preferred to avoid any form of contact with him since then, but to those who actually had tried to greet him, he too hardly gave any response.

He didn't want pity and as he wished, with his ignorance none he received. But the price was high; Sasuke hadn't realized it until very recently, until once again there were people who wished him a good day.

"Morning, Shiki-san," his sensei greeted back, eyes fixed at the large box the other man was carrying. "New Icha Icha Violence?"

The shopkeeper laughed while Sasuke snorted in disdain. Judging the unfathomable depth of the love Kakashi harbored for his novels, it was highly probable that the said books were the only being –regardless their lifeless state– that the jounin would be willing to marry –if marry he must in the future. Using a warning tone, the black-haired gennin pointed out sharply, "We are going to be late."

Under his student's unsympathetic gaze, the jounin instructor could only shrug helplessly. The boy really had to do something with his uptightness, but oddly enough, girls in Konoha seemed to make so little fuss over it. After a promise to reserve one book was made with the shopkeeper, the older shinobi commented, "With your behaviour, Sasuke, people will begin to wonder who is babysitting who in this case."

"You are _not_ babysitting me," Sasuke stated flatly as his feet gained its former pace. To be given a special escort was seriously embarassing, especially for a shinobi who should be capable of defending himself. He had a reputation to uphold and these kinds of act were not helping. It still astonished the Uchiha successor of how easy he had complied when the Hokage forced the whole bodyguard issue on him. Precaution it was, but when nothing –not even a headache– happened to him in the past week, it supposedly lost its title as a precaution.

Partly listening to his sensei's trailing footsteps, Sasuke plunged his hands deep into the pockets of his shorts, as he usually did when he was resolute on something. Eyes still staring straight at the lively street, he started tentatively, "It has been a week and nothing happens. I don't think you still need to escort me."

"Any particular reason?" Of course he wouldn't expect to accept a definite answer right away, at least not from a person like Kakashi.

"No, but Naruto-"

"Ah, you're afraid that he may be _jealous _because I'm the one living with you, not him," the jounin nodded vigorously, pointedly ignoring the startled look Sasuke was wearing. Even when 'startled' was no longer suitable to describe the gennin's dangerous glare, Kakashi still resumed his rambling, accompanied by a few of sympathetic nods. "You should have just said so, Sasuke. I won't be so bold as much as interfering with my subordinates' love life-"

"Say one more word and you are dead."

When it was coming from the young Uchiha, mere words could become the sharp edge of a knife set on your neck skin. However, Kakashi was Kakashi. In return of the death threat, his mask crinkled into a line of genial smile. "Sasuke, if you really want me cooperating with you, I suggest you to change the way you request."

There was a sound of teeth grinding at each other coming from the black-haired boy. When he finally spoke, Kakashi thought that he heard the familiar sound of kunai being honed. "I've never said I request you to cooperate."

"That means you actually intend to." The smile hardly faltered.

"Just... shut up," Sasuke ended the pointless interchange after his futile effort to find any counter-attack. How he wished the jounin wasn't so damn cool; it was far easier to win a dispute with the hotheaded Naruto.

Despite his frustration, a carefree whistling from his side made him spare a sidelong glance at Kakashi, whose single eye was still forming a happy curve. It was when the Uchiha realized that his sensei too had both of his hands shoved into his trousers. Sasuke felt his own hands curled into tight fists at the sight; he wasn't going to lose this round, not when his mind had been set to winning. Shoving them deeper, he declared stubbornly, "Don't escort me anymore starting from tomorrow. I'm not a baby."

The voice which answered to his statement was cold, erasing all impressions of a frolicsome jounin Kakashi carried only a moment ago. "It's the Hokage's to decide and you are a horribly selfish baby if you dare to bother her at these times."

Sasuke fell silent at once. He certainly wasn't expecting that, but Kakashi in fact had always been unpredictable. Sometimes it truly upset him that his sensei seemed to say the most right thing at the most inapt situation. Of course he always had the choice to contradict that, but it would only make him an insensitive little baby he always resented.

"But no need to worry," suddenly Kakashi's voice gained its cheerful quality back. "I'll explain to Naruto that I'm only guarding you. No harm meant."

The gennin inwardly groaned. _/Was he actually serious or not!?/_

* * *

"I'll catch it!"

"Your stealth is horrible, Naruto," Sakura was visibly annoyed at her blonde friend's inexhaustible determination to put the spotlight on himself. "Sasuke-kun is the obvious choice to do this."

A pair of fuming blue eyes darted from a three-coloured finch chirping merrily on the brittle branch of a tree at the riverbank to his cool dark-haired teammate. "Why is it always Sasuke? Even Kakashi-sensei is now staying with Sasuke!"

"Shut up, dobe. You'll scare the bird away," the said teammate muttered darkly at the kyubi boy, which of course merely angered him more.

"What? You got a problem with that?"

"You're the problem!" Sasuke snapped back sharply although his voice was still considerably lower than that of his confrontational friend. "Why can't you just be quiet?"

At the rather reproachful question, Naruto at once stood up from his squatting pose, eyes flaring angrily. His new position, which caused him to look down at his still crouching rival, made him feel somewhat superior –considering the usual height issue he constantly had to admit in normal times. In receipt of another surge of strength, he replied hotly, "I would if you weren't a damn jerk!"

"Excuse me?" The indictment rose not only Sasuke to his feet, but also the level of ferocity in his voice. Apparently Naruto's rage was contagious. "Which part of me is a damn jerk!?"

"You're living with him!"

Sasuke's eyebrows shot upward; what kind of logic was that? He was torn between bewilderment and anger when he asked incredulously, "And that makes me a jerk?" It was getting ridiculous.

"Yes because you didn't decline his offer to stay with you!" The other boy seemed perfectly oblivious to the confusion in Sasuke's voice. "Do you realize just how perverted he is? What if he-" All of a sudden he stopped abruptly, face turning into a brilliant shade of crimson, as he averted his gaze once again to the river. "Nothing! Forget it!"

Still under the impact of his initial shock, Sasuke could only stare blankly at his flushing teammate. He wasn't hearing _that;_ there must be a mistake somewhere, either due to the sudden incapability of his auditory devices or the malfunction of Naruto's tongue. In the process of convincing himself –no matter how arduous it was– he accidentally caught a sight of his sensei sitting on the bough of a tree several metres above Sakura's head, his visible eye intent at the scenes displayed before him. Sasuke imagined seeing the words: 'See what I said!' painted clearly in red on the jounin's mask.

To keep his anger from exploding, he diverted his eyes back to Naruto, which unfortunately did well only in agitating the other boy even more. "Stop looking at me, asshole!" the blonde gennin snapped, face still immersed in deep scarlet.

The other snapped back. "I was not looking at you, dumbass!"

"You obviously were, you arrogant-"

"Now, let's look over there," out of the blue Kakashi appeared behind the quarrelling partners and turned their head simultaneously to the river. Their sought bird was now perching on a slab of rock at the edge of the river, presumably terrified by many ominous sounds its hunters emitted. If Sasuke wasn't Uchiha Sasuke, he would probably drop his jaw, like what Naruto was doing right now. To catch it now would be _difficult._

"Any idea, _gentlemen_?" their sensei's voice was still sweet, yet held a tad of menace. For once, Sakura was thankful that she was being left out by the word 'gentlemen'.

"The situation is," the silver-haired jounin resumed coolly when no reply came, "we have to catch the finch no matter what and you can see clearly that it is now sitting on that rock, which as I can see is slippery. The river ends in a cascade far above its landing point, precisely where the rock is set, which means where our bird is located."

Kakashi halted for a moment, evaluating his silent subordinates with his slightly droopy eye. "Now about the obstacles. This is a _bird_ we're about to catch, so stealth, like Sakura said, is irreplaceably needed, as well as agility. I suggest one person to do this –the rock isn't that big anyway. Apart from stealth and agility, this task also demands balance due to the wet surface of the rock. Any volunteer?"

Naruto was about to raise his hand when Sasuke declared resolutely, "I'll do it." Next to him, Sakura sighed in admiration at the end of his short statement.

"Not fa-" Before Naruto could finish firing his complain, the jounin instructor had wisely chosen to cover the troublesome mouth with his palm, leaving the loudest gennin struggling and squirming in his hold. To Sasuke he gave his consent with a slight nod. "Do it fast."

Wasting no time, the young Uchiha immediately calculated his plan; for the distance between the rock and his hiding place, one long leap would manage, which also allowed him to anticipate if the bird, by any chance, tried to fly away. Under his rapt scrutiny, the bird cocked his head a bit to its side, as if sensing danger approaching yet still doing no attempt to salvage itself. Sasuke smirked at the sight; a hunt should be a lot easier when the prey had trusted its surrounding.

A leap by his legs sent him flying across half the width of the river as his hands reached forward to grab the about-to-fly bird. The young boy astonished even himself with his improving speed and reflex as he landed gracefully on the smooth surface of the rock, the little bird wriggling fruitlessly between his fingers. Perhaps it was due to the radical convalescence of his food's quality, but Sasuke wasn't about to admit it even if it did play a great part in enhancing his skills. What was important, his task was done.

It was when he realized that his body couldn't move. _Again._

Thousands of thoughts running to and fro in his mind, yet none of them managed to put his body into motion, not even the picture of Naruto laughing until next year at his failure. He stood still, sensing the bird strive its getaway from his grip even now. Half-consciously he could hear Sakura's voice, crammed with worry from the riverside and he tried once again to move –or at least speak– but all in vain. Slowly but steadily the voice dimmed and the world turned mute to his ears.

Then his feet, unordered by his brain, take one step forward into thin air.

Sasuke was horrified; he would hit the bottom of the waterfall without a chance to slow his fall down since his state was as ruinous as suffering a physical defect. He couldn't even grit his teeth. Far below him, vast lake with sharp jagged stones littered underneath lay in wait.

Out of nowhere a hand grabbed his waist, preventing him from the horrendous fall, and Sasuke felt himself being tossed to the riverbank. Another pair of strong arms, which he realized as Naruto's, caught his unmoving body before the solid pebbly ground could have a collision with his bones. From the corner of his eyes, the young Uchiha was still able to see his savior's hand trying to take hold of the rock. _And it slipped_. Sasuke could only witness Kakashi's grey hair disappeared from his sight, still incapable to move a muscle.

Luckily, he couldn't scream.

* * *

"Where the hell is he?"

Asuma looked up from his Shogi game with Genma to the Fifth Hokage. She was pacing around her office, brow wrinkling in displeasure as her glowering eyes moved from one jounin to another among the three available there as if it was their fault that their friend hadn't arrived there yet. A somewhat jaded smile appeared upon Asuma's bearded face as he replied dryly, "I thought you would have known Kakashi and his terrible habit by now."

The Hokage shot him an equally wry look. "Knowing is world's apart different from permitting, Asuma. This is becoming intolerable. And what are you two doing there?"

"Playing Shogi," the asked jounin answered with a nonchalant shrug as he pushed his stone a step forward. "This is what I have learned from befriending Kakashi for so long. Does it surprise you that he has matured into a man with no sense of punctuality?"

"That is _not_ my point," Tsunade returned to her wandering pace. "I was saying that we couldn't start this meeting without him."

"Perhaps team 7 hasn't finished their mission," Genma said without averting his intent gaze from the Shogi board.

"They were ordered to catch a finch, Genma. A single damn bird!" the Hokage snapped, voice developing a rise for several degrees. "Where is the difficulty in that? And he was a jounin for god's sakes!"

For once Gai wasn't opposing his eternal rival. The twin thick eyebrows formed a frown on his temple instead, his voice unusually apprehensive. "Maybe something is happening. He is in charge for that Uchiha boy anyway. If anything goes wrong-" suddenly he stopped his rambling as he shook his head in denial, eyes shining proudly, "No! He is a man worth to be my rival! Nothing will go amiss in his presence!"

The three other fell silent at the newly given hypothesis; even Tsunade didn't bother to question the tears running freely down Gai's cheek. She halted her steps by the window, muttering the word 'impossible' to herself repeatedly. That thought had visited her mind before, but she refused to accept it as true. Not that it was exactly impossible –like what she was convincing herself to trust now– but she had too much to handle on her two small hands already. And now it was _Kakashi_, a jounin she had always put her trust on, one of the few who could understand what it exactly meant to be a Hokage.

"No, everything is fine," eventually she declared in a louder tone, more to herself than any of her listeners. No one gave a reply; even Gai chose to cast his gaze downward at his bright yellow socks. Each had their own anxiety in mind, but to share it with their friends was probably the greatest way to make things worse. It would only augment the strain that had been roughly put on them, the Hokage in precise.

"Move, Asuma," suddenly Genma broke the silence, voice echoing a great deal of tedium. "I can grow beard while waiting for you thinking."

The other jounin made a face at his bandana-ed friend as he nonchalantly took a piece from the board. "Try to play Shikamaru and you'll find out why I can never bring myself to shave my beard. He sometimes uses an hour to decide a vital move, but after that, my defeat is certain." At the end of his sentence, Asuma noticed that his friend's lethargic eyes were fixed on his right hand, as if the brown-haired shinobi didn't even bother to pay any heed at his speech. Slightly annoyed, he questioned, "What? Something terribly ensnaring with my hand?"

Genma merely closed his eyes. "Just put the stone down, quickly."

"I was about to. There, look-" His words were cut by a sudden commotion rising behind the Hokage's door.

"…no, you cannot!" The four shinobis in the room simultaneously diverted their gaze to the door, listening intently to Shizune's stern but alarmed accent. "Godaime-sama is currently holding an important meeting with the jounins! You are not allowed to-"

Following a sound of hurried footsteps, the office door was slammed open from the other side and a pink-haired girl appeared, her right arm seized by Shizune. Behind her was Sasuke, whose arm was circling his blonde teammate's shoulders for support. Tsunade and the other shinobis stared at the newly-arrived gennins, sensing an omen approaching as what their preceding talk had implied; the pitiful condition of their uninvited guests also supported the idea in many ways.

"Hokage-sama!" Sakura instantly rushed to the Konoha's leader side upon the sight of her, voice burning in panic. The next sentence she said stunned the Hokage. "Kakashi-sensei fell off the cliff!"

Strong fingers gripped each side of Sakura's shoulders as Tsunade demanded with no less anxiety, eyes rapt and incisive, "Cliff? What cliff? _Kakashi_you say?"

"The mission... " the pink-haired kunoichi looked as if she was about to cry, tears glistening in her green opaque eyes. She swallowed a gulp, steadying her quivering voice before resuming her explanation. "We were accomplishing a mission and that finch- it perched on a stone and... and Kakashi-sensei helped Sasuke-kun- I don't know why but-"

"Where is this place?" Tsunade decided to stop Sakura's disordered ramble before it got too long.

"This... place?" The interrogated gennin was at a complete loss for a moment, her uneasy gaze wandering aimlessly around the room before it eventually rested at the visages of three anxious jounins behind their Hokage. An increase of the intensity of Tsunade's firm grasp shook her out of her trance as she began to stutter once again. "It's the river... yes, river at the north of the village and the waterfall- he fell from that waterfall- from that height... we tried to search for him but we couldn't find him, and Sasuke-kun's condition-"

Finally letting the girl go, Tsunade swirled around brusquely, releasing orders immediately to her other subordinates. "You three, search for him now. You heard her, a valley at the north of the village where the river ends. If you haven't found him at eight tomorrow morning, gather here no matter what and we'll discuss what we should do next. For now, _do not_ tell anyone about this. We don't want to rouse more needless worry from... others."

The three jounins chorused a 'hai' and quickly disappeared behind the office door without further delay. Left inside with the gennins and Shizune, Tsunade studied the young shinobis; they were in a great mess. There were many scratches on their skin and rips on their clothes; Sasuke was visibly suffering the worst compared to his teammates and he too sprained his left ankle. While most parts of their outfits had been dried by the wind, it was painfully obvious that they –at least the boys– had gone as far as diving into the water in search of their sensei. Her gaze halted at the black-haired boy who had his eyes set on the wood-patterned floor.

"Sasuke." No respond in any manner came from the boy, not even an inclining of head. The Hokage could feel her brows knitting together as she asked further, "You couldn't move again?"

Before she could receive a reply from the Uchiha, his blonde teammate had jumped in. "Again? This has happened before??"

Tsunade didn't even have the chance to say a short simple 'yes' when Naruto suddenly snapped at his limp friend, blue eyes blistering angrily yet arm still tightly holding the other's waist. "You have never said about this to us even once! Has he?" The kyubi boy shot a glance at his other teammate, who seemed pretty much as aghast as himself, looking for support. "You told Kakashi-sensei, even the old hag, but not-"

"Naruto-kun," Shizune was using her calm but firm voice, which effectively silenced the young boy at once. "Sasuke-kun is wounded. Let me see his injuries first."

"I am not!" Out of the blue the young Uchiha shouted as he broke free from Naruto's arms. Perhaps it was due to his sudden reaction that his body stumbled forward as soon as he tried to stand without any support. Fortunately, the hard shinobi trainings he daily endured proved their usefulness when impulsively he balanced his body to his unharmed foot. Ignoring the throbbing pain in his ankle, Sasuke continued to glare at the female Hokage. "What did you tell Kakashi to do? Did you say to him that he must protect me with his life?!"

Under the harsh accusation, Tsunade was hardly outraged; she just felt _terrible_. As a leader she felt as if she had failed completely, letting down their and her own trust on her. Catching a quick wary look from Shizune, she tried to calm herself before answering the black-haired boy's question, voice steadier. "It is every jounin instructor's duty to take out-of-control matter into their hand if their charges can no longer cope with it."

There was something so much like a derisive snort coming from Sasuke. "Like I will believe it. You wouldn't order him to guard me day and night if it was about an instructor's responsibility!"

Tsunade could have replied in the same fashion as she had done a week ago, but she didn't. A look of pain crossed her youthful countenance and she closed her eyes, deep in remorse. Her right hand reached for the edge of her desk, as if needing the aid it silently presented. When once again she opened her mouth, the weary tone she was applying to her voice surprised even herself.

"So Kakashi hasn't told you yet," her deep eyes mirthlessly regarded the fuming young boy. Sasuke's pitch-black eyes only narrowed into twin slits on his dour visage in reply when the Hokage resumed, "You are very wrong if you think that is my only reason in asking Kakashi to guard you from harm. If you haven't realized this yet, Sasuke, you hold more importance to Konoha than you think."

"The Third," Tsunade took a deep breath at the mentioning of her late sensei, "died defending our village on account of a forbidden jutsu Orochimaru used. I don't know whether you have ever heard a ninjutsu called 'Edo Tensei' or not but he used it to summon the First and the Second Hokage. However the one I'm going to talk about is the Fourth. It was strangely fortunate that the Third failed his summoning or our village would have been leveled to the ground by now."

"Is... the Fourth really that strong?" Naruto's voice was unusually small and hesitating.

"It's a matter of skill," she answered solemnly, eyes vacant for a moment, deep in reminiscence of her grandfather. "The First and Second were probably stronger but the Fourth was definitely more skilled. Ever heard of Kuronosu?"

The boys were ready to shake their head when Sakura unexpectedly answered in a low tone, "The god of destruction. I've read about it once in one of the ancient scrolls. It was said there that whenever Kuronosu appeared, death and devastation were certain. Is it... really true?"

"So far yes," the Hokage nodded. "What you probably don't know is that a high-level shinobi can summon Kuronosu if he or she indeed wants to. The Fourth could –his teacher told me that– but since its demand was too great, he had never done so. The summoning could cost more than the whole village, which I'm sure what Orochimaru would gladly offer if he succeeded that time. It is nothing for him if he should forfeit both Leaf and Sound Village."

"What does it have anything to do with me?" Sasuke cut the long explanation, still sounding annoyed.

"Everything," Tsunade said gravely as her stare turned to his direction. "We perfectly aware that he wants you and if he manages to get you, performing 'Edo Tensei' once again is only a child's play for him. And one more thing, Konoha needs your Sharingan ability, no matter what we can't risk to lose it."

"But Kakashi-sensei has the Sharingan too," Sakura demurred, her brow creasing into a thoughtful frown. "Is it about heritage?"

The Fifth Hokage leant back to her desk, a grim smile gracing her lips. "It's one of the reasons, but the foremost is the true Sharingan's ability. Those red eyes of yours," she stared pointedly at the sullen-looking Uchiha, "is not for copying only. One of their greatest skills is when they have copied a jutsu, they can find or rather invent its counter-jutsu. Kakashi can't do it since he is not an Uchiha. Therefore, if somehow Orochimaru can heal his hands rather quickly and perform the 'Edo Tensei', you are our trump card, Konoha's hope. You are a genius, Sasuke, yet as in the state you are now, obviously you can't do this whereas I still doubt that even your brother can."

For once, Sasuke didn't press the issue of Itachi still being called his brother; he only stared blankly at the pale-haired woman. To know that on his small shoulders was put a burden with such weight was far from comforting. And _Kakashi__._ The jounin must have known about this and that perfectly explained his tireless determination to protect the younger shinobi.

"We are worried about the attacks you suffer irregularly, which leave your body fixed to the spot," Tsunade continued, weariness now more apparent in her voice. "Perhaps it's Orochimaru's work, which can provide him an easier access to kidnap you. That's all we know so far."

"_That's all?_" suddenly Sasuke snarled, eyes turning into deep crimson. "You have known that much but no one have ever told me about this! And now this happens to Kakashi!"

No one responded to his angry outburst, even the Hokage chose to close her eyes in defense. Sasuke was about to explode once more when all of a sudden a hit landed on his cheek, driving him backward for several steps. When he looked up, a pair of raging blue orbs greeted him, a precise mirror of his own eyes. The pain on his left face was severe but to think that Naruto managed to strike him when he unconsciously let his guard down sent him beyond irate.

"What the-"

"Don't you dare talking to her like that!" The blonde boy howled furiously, index finger pointed at the young Uchiha. "Have you ever looked at yourself, selfish bastard?! You didn't tell Sakura or me a single word about your pain! Do you think you have the right to demand the same?!"

Trying his best to ignore the screeching of pain from his left cheek, Sasuke curled his hand into a fist. "And what will change if I did tell you?! It would only disrupt our teamwork if you two were worrying about me!"

Naruto seemed about to launch another punch when Sakura held his arm in warning. It stopped the hand from moving, but not the train of words from sliding out of his mouth. "Worried?! You've never given _a damn care_ that we are worried about you! If you did, you would have told us rather than leaving us out of this problem! You always try to protect us, you don't care if you have to risk your life in doing it like what you did in Wave Country, but never ONCE you let us to protect you! What kind of teamwork is that?!"

_'... you are only being selfish and weak for letting those who care for you worried.'_

Those words again. Kakashi had said it once and now Naruto did. Something warm glided down from Sasuke's moist eyes, leaving a damp track on his pale cheek and the fact that he was crying –even if it was just a teardrop– upset the black-haired boy. Feeling somewhat disgusted to himself, he prayed silently that everyone in the room was blind enough to miss his tears.

It was when he felt a pair of arms enclosing his rigid body in a tight embrace. And there was a whisper, so soft yet hoarse, chanting before his ears.

"Let me protect you, Sasuke."

The wave of shock swept everything from his mind, leaving it blank and his body frozen in the prison of arms. His balled fist slowly uncurled itself, like every strength had been drained out of him. As if sensing his stiffness lessening, the arms tightened their hold as the other boy mumbled a low 'please' with a voice Sasuke would have never thought coming from his loud blonde teammate if he missed it now. Then he responded, almost inaudibly.

"You... are an idiot."

The words escaped his lips on impulse, those he had said so often yet never once in this manner. If the accent had surprised the other boy, he didn't put it on display, only releasing a sigh. Then, without any warning, another arms enveloped them both, another wordless promise to be someone precious, someone irreplaceable.

It was something Sasuke would have never thought he would do if he hadn't met Kakashi.

Standing quietly outside the small group, Tsunade regarded them with a little smile which somehow seemed more poignant than joyful, thousands of memories depicted in her eyes. The smile flashed into an amused one for a second when Naruto, as if he had just been snapped into reality, jerked from Sakura's embrace, face in an indisputable crimson. Absentmindedly she wondered how Kakashi would feel if he had the chance to see his subordinates –those he held so precious– in this state. As an instructor and a person, he had far surpassed what she would entitle 'doing well'.

Right. _Kakashi__.___

"Naruto," she called out to the still flushing boy. The blonde gennin was only too happy to respond since it could help him escaping the awkward position he was in. "I have a request for you to do. Please stay with Sasuke until your sensei is found or..." the following words halted on the edge of her tongue; it was obviously not the best timing to point out that their sensei probably would _not _come back alive.

"...any other development takes place." Fortunately Shizune was fast coming to her rescue. Naruto obediently nodded and the Hokage dismissed the gennins with a promise to inform them every news she got as soon as possible.

"Call the captain of ANBU, Shizune," she circled her desk and sat back on her chair, eyes firm and resolute as if challenging more quandaries to come pestering her if they dared to. "We need a group to keep an eye on the Uchiha's residence. I don't want him to lose Naruto too." At the last sentence, her eyes softened. The other woman merely inclined her head and left the room.

Tsunade stared at the closed door, evaluating the moment of solitary she eventually earned. She used to like it much, but now when no one else was there to share her burden, the oppressive walls seemed to close upon her, making her heart shrink. In the growing darkness, she let out a long sigh she had been suppressing since Sakura arrived.

All of a sudden the lamp in her room was lit, blinding her sight for a second before she heard a familiar voice. "I don't understand your taste since long ago. But now you're even weirder if you like to sit alone in the dark."

"Put it out," she grumbled, hand still covering her eyes. Jiraiya complied, but that after he saw the wet tracks on his old friend's face.

There was a stiff silence between them as the man tried to adjust his sight with the darkness. Tsunade was too silent, nothing like the hotheaded girl he used to have a fight with years ago. Inwardly Jiraiya cursed the time that had matured her into that taciturn woman and cursed his own disinclination to be given the name 'Fifth Hokage'. Because he knew he would end up like _that_ if he had received it and he selfishly shifted the obligation to Tsunade. To say that he hated himself was hardly enough to express his revolted feeling.

"I can keep an eye on them if you want me to." The suggestion was timid and by a hair's breadth sufficient, but it was all he could do to show his support –to atone his mistakes.

The Hokage was quick to answer, a tad of bitterness toning her words. "I thought you would rather worry over Kakashi, since he is _his_ student."

Jiraiya frowned at the reply, even if it was pretty much unseen in the murky dimness of the room. His voice was echoing utter disapproval when he finally replied. "I do worry about him but-"

"Hokage-sama," A sudden call from the other side of the door stopped Jiraiya's words, and accompanying Shizune's voice, the said door was pushed open. The black-haired woman stood at the threshold, silhouetted by the bright light that flooding the corridor. "Pardon me, Hokage-sama, but the council's representative is here, waiting for you to start the meeting."

Tsunade was about to rise from her seat when she felt a firm hand pressed on her shoulder, compelling her to stay seated. Then Jiraiya's voice floated in the air, full of authority it normally lacked. "Tell them that she is currently supervising something important and will be there as soon as the matter is finished."

"Jiraiya!"

For a moment no answer came from the other woman as if she was astonished to find the sennin there, but when it finally arrived, Shizune's voice was more than grateful. "Yes, Jiraiya-sama."

Trying to shake his offending hand off, Tsunade glared at the other san-nin. "This meeting is important. I have to go no matter what!"

"Later, let them wait," the hand was firm on its place. "You are _the Hokage,_ Tsunade, they _can _wait for you."

Those words stunned the pale-haired woman. Of course she was the Hokage, but she too was fully aware that with the title, came also a great responsibility to take all problems in Konoha into her hands. It was what she had tried to have faith in and now Jiraiya suddenly came, implying that her belief was probably wrong all the way.

"I'm not saying that you mustn't go," Jiraiya once again opened his mouth, unnaturally serious as if he sensed the breeding anger within his friend. "Just give some time to yourself, Tsunade. You can't face them in this state."

Finally giving in to his words, the Hokage leant back to her chair, exhaustion all of a sudden became more obvious plaguing her body. She closed her eyes, sensing the grip on her shoulder tightening as once again the man behind her said, a little apologetic, "I'm sorry for not coming earlier."

A dry laugh escaped her lips. "You have your own business to attend. Don't worry, I can understand that." _/I always understand.../_

"No." That piece of answer surprised her; obviously not one she would expect coming from a man like Jiraiya. "I should be here sooner. I'm sorry."

As she let herself immersed in the new warmth she had just found, Tsunade felt as if she was about to cry again. Biting her lips to hinder the tears from falling, she raised her hand, intertwining its fingers with Jiraiya's larger ones.

Just for a moment, she didn't want to remember that she bore the title 'Hokage'.

* * *

The Uchiha residence was dark and quiet to greet their haunting footsteps, but it was nothing the two boys were unacquainted with. Living a lonely life was what they had been doing for years and it was just another night to go through. _Some things just would never change._

After helping his black-haired teammate to sit on the couch in the living room and being prohibited to put the light on, Naruto asked, "Hey, Sasuke, where is your kitchen?"

The other boy looked like as if he had swallowed a bowl of spicy ramen in one gulp. "You will cook?"

"Yeah," the answer was too nonchalant for such life-threatening situation, at least in Sasuke's opinion. "Eating is important and starving will do us no good."

The young Uchiha snorted, "I won't die just because I don't eat once."

There was a similar snort coming from his friend. "Hmph! Who the hell said I was going to cook for you, asshole? I don't care if you don't need food, but I definitely need it!"

To that, Sasuke didn't bother to reply; he averted his gaze to the floor, only listening to Naruto's footsteps trotting to find the kitchen himself. He loathed himself for hating those words his friend had said –that the other boy wouldn't care whether he chose to eat or starve to death. A month ago that hadn't affected him even a bit but now... Sasuke groaned. The feeling to need someone's affection was extremely disturbing for him.

A clang of cooking utensils being dropped to the floor reverberated throughout the house, disrupting the silent eminence it usually maintained. The black-haired boy stared at his kitchen door which was slightly ajar, brows knitting together. Those utensils his mother carefully... there, another sound of a plate shattering. Silently Sasuke hoped that if his friend's attempt was to blow his kitchen up, he would fail miserably. Well, he shouldn't really expect much from Naruto. Kakashi had never been that riotous in preparing a meal.

The name brought a slight pang in his stomach. Hugging his knees tightly to stop the thwarting ache from circulating all over his body, the young Uchiha averted his gaze to the window sill where his sensei usually sat. And the pain _worsened_. If because of protecting him Kakashi died, not even his resentment to Itachi would stop him from annihilating Orochimaru.

_/As if you can kill him in the first place.../_

Sasuke shut his eyes tightly, ignoring the knife-like truth stabbing his conscience. If his sporadic tendencies to be stock-still were really Orochimaru's work, the words couldn't be any truer. But it wasn't painless to admit that he was_ weak_.

But yes, he was weak. It was a fact he couldn't run away from at least now.

"Eat."

The black-haired boy stared at a plate filled with onigiris –regardless their horrendous shape they were definitely _rice balls_– which was set on the table in front of him. He looked up at his friend whose face, albeit in the inadequate moonlight, could still be seen blazing in fire, then looked back at the questionable food. Carefully he took one of them, examining it. "... is this... onigiri?"

"Shut up," the blonde boy snapped irritably. "You don't have a single cup of ramen, so that's the best I can do."

Risking a bite, Sasuke put the rice ball into his mouth. Not what exactly he could call delicious, but to know that Naruto was willing to make it for him was more than enough.

"Your cooking skill is worse than your stealth." Those words tasted weirder than what he was eating, especially since he felt like his throat was jammed by something heavy. Perhaps it had anything to do with his blurring eyes.

"Just throw it away if you don't want to eat it," the other boy said flatly and took one for himself as he slumped next to Sasuke.

The silence was carried on until another round of eating, then Naruto broke it, his voice low but clear. "If he hasn't been found yet tomorrow, let's search for him again."

As he closed his eyes –feeling somewhat somnolent after eating– Sasuke nodded silently.

_Some things did change after all._

**_To Be Continued_**

**Notes:** Bad SIB… I hope Kakashi-sensei forgives me XD By the way, I took the name 'Kuronosu' from 'Cronos', a titan who was Zeus's father in Greek mythology. He was described as a horrible titan carrying a scythe in Greek mythology, so regardless of what the Romans believe, I made him here the god of destruction. Forgive me if this offends anyone.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	5. Chapter Five: Flickers of Hope

**A/N:** I won't try explaining why my update is so terribly slow, but I really have to thank these following people: **ghostninja85, Mariemaia1, Kyuubi-kun, Mistress Ethereal, cknoakira, Bishiehuggler, YoungSasuke, White Lady of Mirkwood, crimson nightmare, **and **intemptesta nox.** Without all of you, this chapter won't exist. Please enjoy.

To **Iceheart19**: Thanks for the idea with Aburame Clan. If you don't mind, I would like to develop it in the future. And so sorry for my late update. Hope you like this chapter.

To **Dearest**: As a matter of fact, I prefer Naruto being the dominant one but I guess it doesn't and won't matter much in this fic. It's just because Sasuke is the center of attention, I'll like Naruto to… kinda protect him, I guess. But we all know Sasuke can protect himself, right? J As for your other questions, let's find out together later XD

To **Bluelady198**: Glad that you find the pairing interesting. Actually, I've never seen any fanart with KakashiGenma pairing. If you don't mind, can you tell me where did you find it? Thanks

**DISCLAIMER:** Not mine yet, the last time I checked… 

**WARNING: Contains male/male pairing:** Naruto/Sasuke and Kakashi/Genma. In the future though.

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Chapter Five: Flickers of Hope 

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The light was flooding through his closed eyelids as Kakashi stared, not quite conscious yet, at the dim interior of said eyelids, his barely functional ears capturing many faint morning sounds, soothing in their own kind of wonder. It took him about a minute to adjust himself with the newly gained consciousness before he dared to risk his body a little shift.

Almost immediately, every joint in his body screamed a simultaneous protest that he could hardly refrain a groan from being torn out of his throat. It was, the copy ninja concluded when he lay still once more, like trying to wake up after being hit by a mad horse, something that truly happened to the four-year-old him. But it was an old story and he had been but a wee thing back then, nothing like the jounin he was now, which made him wonder what he was doing lying there with practically a stiff, painfully immovable body.

A waterfall. The river. And a finch. On a rock it perched. Sure, the mission his team should carry out. He wondered what happened to the bird. Or Sasuke.

The thought, or the name, shot through him like a bullet and before he realized it, he had been already sitting on what bedding he had slept on, clutching his throbbing shoulders, chest, and everything his hands could locate to calm them down. After a moment or two, the pain numbed and Kakashi chose to ignore it. Time to learn about his surroundings.

It was early in the morning, the sun had just risen and its rays came in through many cracks from the wall of old moldy timbers in front of him. Apparently, he had ended up in a rundown shack he had no idea where and why he could have gotten there in the first place. Its roof was made of straws, now scant and brittle, tied-up to many bunches and piled one after another, and he could see tints of fresh morning sky through them. No furniture or whatnots left in the obviously abandoned hut but a poor remnant of what could have been a hearth once. The place, for some reasons, felt oddly familiar but the jounin couldn't quite point out when he had ever been there before.

Back to the question of why he had no memory of coming to the shack after the fall. Somebody must have gone through the trouble to bring him there, which explained why a part of his upper body was covered in white bandages –a fine work it was, far exceeding his own skill to tend others with those. There were little scratches on the rest of his exposed skin and he could see that they had been treated well using a mixture of some herbs. His vest had been folded to serve as a pillow and he had been sleeping on his black shirt, but his mask was still in place.

Someone was definitely taking a real good care of him. That still didn't answer the whos and whys though.

Kakashi shrugged mentally; those questions could wait until they became a matter of great magnitude that he had no other choice but to solve. For now he had to go back to Konoha as soon as possible. He had no idea for how long he had been unconscious there, which might be a really huge problem since his comrades probably had not the faintest idea of his current condition.

The copy ninja was in the middle of struggling to stand up when a shadow fell from the empty doorway and a familiar bearded face appeared a moment later. Asuma's eyes widened as he saw the other jounin there, lines of distress on his temple lessening considerably as he exclaimed, "Thank god. Kakashi!"

"So I've been missed," the masked jounin mumbled slowly, his attempt to grin completely swallowed by the pain that suddenly spurted through his head. For the first time he realized that it wasn't his hitai-ate that still covered his left eye, but another share of bandages which went around his head, wrapping a great deal of his hair. Under the thick coating, his rigid fingers felt a swelling bruise and blood pulsating around it. Apparently he had also knocked his head somewhere during or after the fall.

Asuma tried to give him a sympathetic gaze, still from the doorway. "You sure get yourself beaten there."

"Never better," Kakashi grumbled, trying to reach for his vest without assigning too much work for his protesting muscles. The head wound made him feel a little off and made the world appear hazier than it supposed to. He looked up again after his hand get a hold of the vest – there was his hitai-ate, put into one of the pockets – and asked, "Is everything alright?"

"You're not," the newly arrived jounin began to approach him cautiously, eyes fixed on the massive amount of bandages covering his friend. A new frown was developing on his face as he squatted next to the copy ninja. "Who has been tending you?"

Upon hearing the question, Kakashi's face started to shape a similar frown despite the bandages. "It wasn't you?"

"You would have been nothing but a roll of bandage if it were me," Asuma seemed mildly amused by the picture his description made of the other jounin, but there was a shade of vigilance written on his face when he reached out to touch the bandages, examining them. "Among us, only Genma can do it this neat but it's impossible. He's supposed to be searching the other side of the river."

"Let's just get back," Kakashi decided in the middle of putting back his shirt and vest. The other shinobi nodded, noting the fresh crimson stain on his friend's bandage which obviously needed an immediate change and treatment, and helped him on his feet. The copy ninja tried to bit back a hiss as his muscles groaned at the move, his voice turning out gruff through gritted teeth when he asked, "Is my team alright?"

While trying to reposition Kakashi's arm around his shoulder, Asuma provided a hasty reply. "They were fine compared to you – at least when I left. Only a little wet and there were small scratches here and there. But sure, they seemed pretty much scarred mentally about this accident, probably aware that you could get hurt badly and stuff because of them, and your little Uchiha looked ready to drown himself to death if I may say. But the Hokage should be able to handle them just fine, knowing her."

All the more reasons for him to quickly return. The copy ninja squinted his eyes when they stepped out of the shack, taking in his mostly brown and green surroundings. Tall sturdy trees, leaves in the color of emerald luxuriantly shaping their canopies, gnarly trunks and branches sustaining them, green mosses covering the roots and soils; nothing really different with every forest he had ever seen but... there, it was that odd feeling again.

Then again, most likely it wasn't that important. After all, all forests did have their own resemblance to each other. Struggling not to think about the strange sensation in his stomach, he asked his companion again, "It has been just one day, right?"

"Yeah, one day."

Something in Asuma's tone of voice made him stare hard at the bearded jounin, but he said no further. True that a day was a relatively short span of time, but it was also an incontrovertible fact that Orochimaru managed to destroy half of Konoha in less than one day.

Kakashi shuddered inwardly and they trudged with a reasonable pace in silence.

"Find anything yet?"

Naruto grunted a callous snort he had learned from being a teammate of a certain Uchiha before shouting his verbal answer, "How do you think I suppose to find that little piece of junk that fast! Just look how many scrolls you have here!"

The fifth Hokage shot him a sharp irritated look. "Well, you guys are the only gennins who can help me to search that 'little piece of junk' in this mess. The others are busily going out for a mission."

Grumbling unintelligibly, the boy reached for another scroll from the stack he was currently confronting. Tsunade had asked them to help her rummaging an underground library – he had no idea there was a library that big under the Uchiha's residence and it still disturbed him somewhat to witness Sasuke pull the head of an antique doll to open a secret door leading to said library – in hope of finding more information about their current predicament. The light in the room – a paper lantern at each side of the room – was so inadequate that he had to squint his eyes at every little figure, hoping to catch the glimpse of the word 'Kuronosu' or 'death god' or something along that line. Hardly more fortunate, his teammates were searching in another room adjacent to where he was, also trapped amidst heaps of ancient scrolls.

"What is it that you want to find actually?" Naruto asked offhandedly, still miffed by the whole situation. He felt somewhat lightheaded, probably because of the dim lighting. Well, at least he had finished another scroll.

"Anything that can help us," the answer was delivered under a tone so grave that it compelled the young boy to look up at her, bending over the only desk in the room. "Although I don't know what it is. Can be a way to defeat Kuronosu if we are really very lucky, or a specific method for Sasuke to acquire the highest level of his Sharingan."

Of course. The forever-dependable Sasuke. The thought of his ridiculously gifted teammate once again gaining the main role annoyed the blond boy even more. If only he could control the kyubi inside him, which was downright impossible with his level of power. But there might be a story somewhere, written in one of these many scrolls about the Nine Tails defeating a death god – and also pretty much how. However, the Uchiha Clan had existed for a reasonably long time...

It was when he heard a shrill blood-curling scream.

Naruto snapped his head up, meeting Tsunade's equally horrified gaze. He recognized the voice – it was Sakura's and it came from the next room. Immediately they jumped to their feet and scurried to the door.

Only that the door was locked. Or jammed from the other side. They shook the unfortunately-too-sturdy iron door, but it didn't even return a budge.

"Where is the key?" he asked in panic.

"I didn't lock it!" Tsunade shouted back, still exerting the utmost level of her strength to force the door to move. "I don't even have the key! Sasuke didn't give it to me!"

"Then this thing can lock itself?" Naruto demanded incredulously as he tried to peer from the small window on the door of what had happened outside. But there wasn't much to be seen in the darkness, faint yellowish glow from the other room all that was sparing him a dim sight of cracking stone floor in the corridor. Fear seized him, his heartbeat quickening as another scream filled the stifling stagnant air and scrunched his nerve. For a moment the boy could only stare blankly at his knuckles that had whitened from gripping the bars at the window too tightly until a loud crash and a muffled cry woke his senses.

He heard somebody fell, colliding with the hard cold floor, and a pale hand wrapped in bandages and black buckles fell at the doorway, limp and immobile. His eyes dilated in shock at the sight –no one wore those things except _that_ teammate of his.

"Sasu–"

The word got stuck in his throat when suddenly his eyes caught a shadow, or rather a shape of inky blackness, darker than the darkness that was surrounding him, writhing in the corridor. It advanced slowly towards him, its movement stiff and slothful, almost inhuman. His mouth went dry and he could feel a cold shudder ran through his body, like the temperature in the room had dropped rapidly. He couldn't budge from his spot, not even when the shape had reached the door, its thick blackness leaving no room for the smallest light outside the small chamber.

Then, with a chillingly slow motion, it put its hideous hand-like limb through the window, reaching for his face. His breath turned into small clouds of vapor and he felt a numbing coldness seeping into every fiber of his being. He couldn't even feel Tsunade's presence beside him anymore, lost in the depth of cold horrible winter.

And suddenly, a colder sensation surged through his senses, his surrounding brightening significantly.

Naruto blinked. A drip of water fell from his golden bangs.

"Finally."

That voice sounded familiar and somehow..._wrong_. He looked up with still hazy eyes, and blinked again when he saw Sasuke towering beside him, his dark eyes sharp, edges of impatience visible on the curve of his mouth. It was when Naruto noticed that he was half-sitting on a couch, slightly shivering, and dripping wet, while his seemingly angry teammate had an empty pail on his hand.

"Wha'?" It was the best he could articulate for the moment.

A dangerous twitch appeared at the corner of the other boy's eyes. "Get up _now_ or I'll be happy to Chidori you."

The threat, however, seemed lost to Naruto who was looking around at his surrounding cagily, the vivid shadow of his nightmare still tailing him. Sure, he had been in Sasuke's house last night due to Tsunade's order, and apparently he had fallen asleep afterwards – the remaining of his ultimate riceballs still there on the table. Probably because Sakura had spoken about Kuronosu and stuff yesterday that he dreamt such a vile nightmare. Unconsciously he raised his hand to his face, as if trying to recall the numbing coldness.

Still hovering between dream and reality, the blonde looked up at his taller teammate and asked with a somber tone, an apparent aberration to his normal traits. "Do you have a library somewhere under this house?"

Sasuke looked at his guest for a moment, eyebrows raised as if asking 'Are you mad?' yet gave the answer eventually. "Yes, if you have to know. Does that have any relevance to what we should do now?"

The kyubi boy stared at him in horror. "You have–!"

Before he could finish his exclamation, he had been pushed flat to the couch, the rest of his words caught in his throat. Naruto felt his eyes widen considerably when he realized that his friend was lying on top of him, pitch-black eyes piercing into his light-blue ones. A panic voice in the back of his head screamed when Sasuke suddenly dipped his head and leaned closer.

"Someone's out there."

Naruto blinked at the muted whisper and could only stare back in heart-racing perplexity for a moment, the words not completely dawning on him yet. From the corner of his eyes, he could see a kunai held firmly in Sasuke's hand, ready to strike. Somewhat irritated to the fact that his teammate looked perfectly fine – or rather didn't give a care in the world – with their position, he opened his mouth to yell at the other boy, but found a hand covering his mouth at the next moment before he could voice anything.

_I'll kill you if you say a word_ was what Sasuke mouthed and the blond boy could feel the sharp tip of aforementioned kunai pressed to his waist. The best he was allowed to do was to glare at his teammate and try to listen in brimming hope to not hear a sound and prove that the invincible Uchiha was also capable of committing ridiculous mistakes.

But once again, sounds of approaching footsteps, faint and light in the pregnant silence, told the kyubi boy that he still had a long way to go. Naruto had to resist the urge to bite his teammate's hand and tell him that he was overreacting when the door opened with a small creak. The shadow of his nightmare came back plaguing his mind, but the blond boy shoved it to the very back of his brain – he would _not_ look scared in front of _him_.

For a moment there was no sound. The two boys stared at each other, waiting with the utmost alertness. But since the back of the couch was cutting off their sight from seeing who the intruder was...

"Sasuke-kun?"

Once Sakura's voice reverberated in the room, Naruto pushed Sasuke with his knee, effectively sending the other boy tumbling to the floor with a crash. Not even one with a level of agility as advanced as the Uchiha would be able to dodge that. Hmph.

"What are you doing!" Sakura howled and knelt next to her ice prince, green eyes sharp and accusing at the assumed abuser of her Sasuke-kun. "You are not supposed to hurt your teammate!"

Naruto was in the verge of saying that teammates were also not supposed to suspect their teammates as villains coming to plunder their house or something, but the glare Sakura was shooting him warned him that it was best not to voice anything which had the slightest possibility to upset her further. And so, he contented himself by meeting Sasuke's glower, vehemently intending to resume the fight nonverbally. The challenge, however, was turned down by the other boy who immediately stood up and ignored his seething teammate.

"Let's go now," the young heir of the Uchiha clan declared coolly and turned around to the door. "We didn't search the other side of the river quite thoroughly yesterday."

"Aren't we supposed to meet Hokage-sama first, Sasuke-kun? Perhaps Kakashi-sensei has already been found last night," Sakura suggested as she caught up with him without delay, the significant weight of their problem still unable to extinguish her fervor entirely even though she wasn't displaying it with a smile. Sometimes Naruto still wondered if there was anyone but his raven-haired teammate who could put her bright radiance out since it always seemed to shine even in the darkest hours, keeping her friends sane and alive.

It was one of the things he loved about her.

But all of a sudden, fear emerged like a cold hand grasping his heart, the dream resurfacing fast and threatening in his mind. Naruto stared, wide-eyed at his teammates who were about to disappear behind the door. It felt almost like in his dream; they went away and never returned.

"You're coming or what?"

The blond boy blinked again. From the threshold, Sasuke was looking at him, a scowl on his pale-coloured face, something different about it than the usual frown the ice prince had there, but he wasn't able to grasp what it was actually. Sakura also halted there, hands put firmly on her slim hips as she barked out orders like she always had. "Hurry up, Naruto. You know how busy Hokage-sama is."

They were waiting for him.

And he grinned at them, running a hand almost sheepishly through his still damp hair. They were waiting for him, to go searching for their sensei who had bound them together as more than a team, who meant so much that it hurt to look at Sasuke in the face right now. The shadow of guilt, self-loathing was too palpable even in his pitch-black eyes and it scared Naruto to think what would happen if the worst did happen to their jounin instructor. Silently he tightened his fist and followed his friends out of the house, a wordless promise echoing inside his heart. Kakashi-sensei would be fine and the dream would never happen; he would make sure of that.

Because he would protect them. _Always._

"I thought you were a genius."

Kakashi cracked an eye at the leader of Konoha, the utmost he could let himself to do while having his head treated by a shinobi from the medic team, and mumbled, "I know I've heard that before."

"No, seriously, you almost got yourself killed there," Tsunade looked down at her subordinate in frustrated disbelief mixed with tired concern, hands crossed rigidly in front of her chest. "If my memory serves me right, you have been a jounin for at least... what, fourteen years? And you are injured this badly only by falling from that height?"

"I sincerely agree with you, Hokage-sama!" Gai abruptly voiced his opinion with much more passion than exactly needed –as usual.

"That height you mentioned was pretty high," the copy ninja made an argument but immediately gave up when she settled him a stern look. "Oh okay, it was solely entirely my fault. Not that I had any other choice."

"You're missing the point," the Godaime muttered matter-of-factly but made no attempt to press the issue further. The room lapsed into silence as all eyes were set on the pair of skillful hands which were adroitly nursing Kakashi's head wound. The silver-haired jounin bit down a hiss when an ample amount of medicine was applied to his wound and a stinging pain seeped through his body from the wound. It seemed that his injuries were worse than he had originally assumed, but at second thought, they had always been. That moment, rescuing Sasuke had been his only priority, even if he could actually foresee that his grasp would slip like that.

And the impact was extensive, he noted quietly as a better look around was managed, at the weary faces surrounding him. Of course. The other three jounins had been searching for him the whole night and the Hokage had obviously forfeited her sleep if the dark circles around her eyes were anything to go by. Feeling guilty wasn't exactly his thing, but something somewhere told him that he would have to get used to it soon.

"We must be thankful to whoever giving you that first aid or you would have been dying out of excessive blood loss by now," Tsunade's voice put his attention back to her.

"No idea who it was," Kakashi's reply came brief and straight as he glanced around at his colleagues who were sporting an equally blank look. For some reasons, he didn't know whether to feel thankful or anxious to his unidentified savior. So far, he could find nothing wrong his body –except for the obvious injuries– that might be inflicted by any other cause but the fall, but there were always probabilities.

The Hokage waved a hand and said, "Don't mind it too much for now. Getting yourself recovered as soon as possible is your top priority, you get that?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the copy ninja answered meekly, which directly invoked a frown on Tsunade's temple.

"You are lucky that I have some business to attend to in a few minutes or you'll be listening to my lecture until dusk falls," she reproached as a moment later the other medical shinobi stood up, having finished treating Kakashi's wound. She thanked him briefly before looking back at her badly injured jounin with a combination of sympathy and amusement. "Now get some sleep, Kakashi. I want to see you better tomorrow, okay? It's an order."

Once the last word left her mouth, there was a loud crash coming from the door as it flung open, revealing hues of crimson and orange. Tsunade suppressed a wince when Naruto, being an obnoxiously loud tornado that he was, barged in and filled the hospital room with his roar. "Obaa-san! They said Kakashi-sensei has been found! Is that true!"

With no less enthusiasm but evidently better self-control, Sakura also rushed into the room and immediately noticed the jounin who was sitting on the bed. Behind her, the last member of Team 7 who had not entirely lost his coolness followed, still saying nothing.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

The addressed jounin raised a bandaged hand and waved at his subordinates, eye curving happily like it always had. "Yo."

A passionate wave of 'Kakashi-sensei!' deluged him with various scales of tone –one a shrill high-pitched voice of a girl and the other a boy's childish pitch, an octave lower although just as earsplitting. His auditory system had not recovered yet from the thunderous pressure it had to endure when another sharp pain hit the rest of his body. A hiss involuntarily left his lips when Sakura, out of relief, did what most girls of her age would impulsively do in that situation – enveloping him in a hug which might feel sweet if he had not fallen from a cliff the day before.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei!" the young kunoichi instantly realized what she was inflicting her wounded instructor with and distanced herself reasonably. Despite all that, the copy ninja managed a painful smile for her.

Naruto, who seemed more amused than concerned with his current sight, ran an appraising gaze along the excessive amount of bandage wrapping the jounin's body. A merry glint appeared in the boy's light blue eyes when he pointed out with a grin so wide that it must be hurting his facial muscles. "You look like a roll of bandage, Sensei."

"I have heard that comment at least twice today," Kakashi muttered as Asuma generously supplied a chuckle from his standing place next to the window. Pointedly ignoring the snigger, he gave a sidelong glance to Sasuke who still hadn't said a word since entering the room. The black-haired gennin was practically shooting his death glare at him, which he preferred not to meet head on even in perfect health, and so the copy ninja settled his gaze on his other subordinates instead. "Is your teammate angry with me?"

His blond gennin snorted and crinkled his face disdainfully. "Don't mind him, Kakashi-sensei. He's just being his usual jerk self."

A straight hit on the head was delivered by Sakura. "And so are you! Stop insulting Sasuke-kun!"

"But Sakura-chan–!"

"Kakashi," a flat voice calmly interrupted and the copy ninja looked up to the last heir of Uchiha Clan. A layer of thin mist was veiling the dark eyes and he could see them hardening as more words fell from a pair of lips that quivered even so slightly. "You do anything like that again and I'll kill you first before you can get yourself killed protecting me."

There was a moment of silence before slowly, a smile creased Kakashi's mask. It wasn't lost to him that Sasuke's last words had cracked, even though his humungous pride had made sure that it had not reached what exactly he could call a sob. The raven-haired boy inhaled a sharp breath, the haze in his eyes so close to condense and fall, and whirled around briskly, walking to the door. Those left inside the room watched him and the door slammed behind with varying degrees of interest.

Naruto turned back to his sensei, jaw dropped and face wearing a disbelief expression that looked almost comical. Then, with a seemingly great difficulty, he managed to croak out, "Is he crying?"

The best Sakura could do was to shake her head vaguely, both in shock and denial. A moment later the kyubi boy broke into a wild stream of laughter.

With an equally wide grin on her face, Tsunade shooed them out. "Come on, leave him now. You can do what you want once your sensei has recovered. Now wait at the office for your mission today."

"Ah, wait," Naruto halted at the door and ran back, pulling out a marker from his pocket in process. Devotedly, he inscribed an excessively large 'Get well soon, Sensei!' on Kakashi's bandaged left arm, the grin never leaving his face. The bright blue eyes lingered on the still many empty spaces thoughtfully but he was quickly pushed away by the jounin who had no desire to have himself covered by not-quite-so-illegible writings, no matter how well-meant they were.

Once the gennins had left, the Hokage remarked with a gentle voice, eyes softening with a smile. "They really love you."

Kakashi made a face at her. "Yeah, by giving me a death threat."

"You know what it means," she gave him a pointed look. "At least when it comes from Sasuke."

"Probably," the silver-haired jounin replied defensively. An upset look darkened the visible part of his face when he muttered with lower voice, "They are just thirteen-year-olds for God's sake."

No one spoke a word for a minute as Kakashi stared silently at his hands while from a corner, Genma shared a pensive look with Gai and Asuma. Tsunade looked away to stare at the bleak pallid wall at her right, feeling sickened by herself who was powerless, who had to place a grave burden on a thirteen-year-old boy's shoulders. But she steeled herself and placed a comforting hand on the copy ninja's shoulder, speaking softly, "I know. That's why we have to do what we can to protect them."

Before the jounin could voice a response, she had said briskly, "Anyway, we'll leave you now. Have some rest and do not concern yourself with anything for a while."

Kakashi nodded, "Fine, but I need to speak with Genma for a moment."

From the doorstep, Tsunade glanced at Genma who also had halted his steady pace, and then threw the other jounin a warning look. "Don't keep him too long. He was also searching for you all night."

"Sure, Hokage-sama," a courteous incline of a bandaged head, "and thank you."

With quick strides, the Konoha's leader followed her other subordinates outside, and closing the door behind her, she said to the two remaining jounins. "All of you go get some rest too. I'll take care of your teams. They will be alright carrying out a D-rank mission without their instructor just for one day, I assume?"

Satisfied by several nods she received in return, Tsunade began to walk back to her office building. It was good to keep herself busy and not letting her mind to wander around to topics she didn't actually want to mull over – at least _for the time being_, since she would have to, sooner or later. A sigh worked its way up to the top of her throat but she pressured it back down. There were enough of desperate sighs in a place called hospital without any need of hers to lengthen the list and she would rather do something to help her people, even in a shape as insignificant as an encouraging smile. It was her promise all the way.

That moment, she realized how lonely it felt to sit at the top as the Hokage. Alone.

Of course it would be hard; she had understood that since an affirmation had been her answer to their proposal, but it was altogether a different matter: to comprehend and to undergo the experience itself. The fact that she no longer had Shizune's constant company also made everything seemed worse than they actually were. Quite significantly. But a medical shinobi was a precious asset in carrying out an S-rank mission and hence her reasonable absence.

The soft gust of her sigh finally earned its chance to mingle with its free kindred when Tsunade stepped out of the hospital building. She shielded her eyes for a moment from the blinding sunlight and blinked when her gaze fell to a markedly tall figure that was standing under the shade of a tree. Without much haste, she descended the stairs and was almost successful in offering a greeting cheerfully. "Nice morning, isn't it?"

Jiraiya fell into steps next to her effortlessly with large strides, his face harbouring a look of awkward uncertainty, and so did his voice. "So he's already back."

"You aren't going to see him?" she replied casually, an odd feeling of relief flowing in her veins at the rough sound of his voice. _/Right/_ she snickered to herself, _/now you sound like a thirteen-year-old girl thinking about her first crush. How lame can you get, Tsunade-chan/_

Fortunately, the man did nothing that might support that idea. He only waved his hand dismissively and said, "Nah, it's okay if he's already safe here. I come to tell you about Akatsuki." A grave solemnity took the reign of his face and she knew for sure nothing good would follow. He dropped his volume a notch, eyes intent on her, and muttered warily, "_They disappear_."

When his former teammate made no discernible reaction to his news, Jiraiya continued, for once trying to be careful in choosing his words. "The thing is that none of my informant has seen them in the last three weeks. They were usually easily spotted thanks to those glaring black-and-red robes, either in the middle of who-knows-what evil mission they were in or simply in doing their daily routines. But... well, yeah, three weeks must mean something. I guess. It's kind of strange."

For a moment there still was no response as their feet continued to trudge on. It was when the sennin felt guiltily that he should have left and not put more pressure onto his old friend that the Hokage opened her mouth, speaking slowly, "Maybe they have finally come to a conclusion that it will be safer to move unnoticed now."

"Exactly," his reply was quick to arrive. "That's what I think as weird. They have long prided their skill for being able to stay unharmed even though almost every people who met them knew that they were Akatsuki, and suddenly now they lose their overconfidence? Kinda hard to believe if you ask me."

"Damn assholes," she gritted her teeth, eyes still looking straight to the distance. Jiraiya glanced at her, full of thought.

The walk to her office building was short but the day was still young and the sun had yet to reach its highest throne. They met many people on the way, some recognizing him and some just politely inclining their head at them, but he noticed how she always returned them with a smile. Beautiful, he noted, but Tsunade had always been beautiful despite her boyish attitude. The sennin was about to scold himself for thinking such absurd notation when Kotetsu suddenly appeared from a sake store's entrance, face full with relief when he saw them.

"Godaime-sama, Ibiki-san is looking for you," he hastily spoke, shades of anxiety coloring his countenance back. "There was something he must report about a missing residence, so he said."

Jiraiya watched as his old friend's face turned blank and harsh, her bright smile elapsing into nothing. Her voice was deep, authoritative when she answered, "Fine, I'll wait in my office."

Things were not supposed to be like this. The sennin winced slightly when her smile disappeared and she began to walk –more stiffly than before– entering the Hokage's residence. He wanted to reach out, to give her a reassuring pat on the shoulder that he would always be there when she needed him to, but the hand hung in the air at the sight of her rigid shoulders and wry but strong smile that had steeled itself upon her lips. Because, wasn't it him who decided to let her be like this, to be the Hokage?

Jiraiya had never felt so disgusted to himself.

"You want to talk?"

"Just for a minute," Kakashi replied, relaxed but somber, and beckoned his friend to approach. "It was about the Sharingan you wanted me to find out. You know, the one for Sasuke."

The other jounin raised his eyebrows. "That's fast."

A wry look answered to his comment. "Actually I've just got the idea last night, when I was unconscious. It's just an idea, mind you."

Genma nodded, crossing his hands in front of his chest defensively. "Let's hear it."

"I don't think you have to open his cranium only to see what is happening with his brain," the copy ninja started. "Like you've said, Sharingan is connected to the brain, at least as its source of chakra. How about if we have him activating his Sharingan and I'll check what happen using mine. If there is something wrong with the flow of his chakra, I should know that way. Or you can ask one from the Hyuuga family if you want to have more accurate details of things."

"You think it will work?"

"I don't know," Kakashi shrugged and suppressed a wince when the muscles at his shoulders protested. "A try won't hurt, I suppose, but several days ago I managed to figure something out just by putting my hand on Naruto's head. It should work better with Sasuke's Sharingan."

There was a moment of silence as Genma stared at him, disbelief blending with obligatory composure in his eyes. "So Naruto had the attacks too."

"I'm not sure," the other jounin replied and lay on his bed, huffing softly. A wave of headache hit him, but he ignored it. "Naruto said he felt ticklish somewhere inside his head and so I checked what was wrong. The flow of chakra in his head was chaotic, but that was all."

"I think I must take a good look on him," Genma decided, waving his hands helplessly. "Well, like Hokage-sama said, don't think about it too much. Have a good rest."

Kakashi said nothing, merely staring at his retreating friend with a degree of thoughtfulness. That time, when he had realized that he would hit the bottom of the river no matter what, it had been the other man's face that crossed his mind. It had been weird, but now that it had happened, he didn't know what to do about it. However...

A deep sigh and he heard himself say, "Take a good care for yourself, Genma."

At the end of his words, the other jounin halted and set his gaze back at him, an amused look on his face. "Look who's covered in bandage."

Kakashi chuckled and closed his eyes.

**_To Be Continued_**

**Notes: **There goes chapter five. I hope there is still someone reading this story XD Anyway, please review. I can use some ideas too if you don't mind sharing them with me. Thanks for reading!


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